Bengalis are one of the greatest food lovers in the Indian subcontinent. Their passion for fish (river fish especially) is so that no meal is considered complete without it. A variety of fish is available in the river Ganges: perch, mullet, crab, carp, prawn, crayfish, lobster all are loved, but it is the  seasonal hilsa (elish) that is priced above  all For Bengalis the staple food is rice. 

Though coconut and its oil is available, pure golden mustard oil is mostly used as a cooking medium. As in all of India, Bengalis eat everything with their fingers. Whether you have five dishes or sixty, the most important part of eating in Bengal is having each dish separately with a little rice in order to savour its individual taste. The more delicate tastes always come first, graduating to stronger ones. Vegetables, especially the bitter ones, are the first item, followed by dal, perhaps accompanied by fritters or fries of fish or vegetable. After this come any of the complex vegetable dishes like ghanto or chachchari, followed by the important fish jhol as well as other fish preparations. Meat will always follow fish and chutneys and ambals will provide the refreshing touch. Finally comes the dessert.