Learn Bangladesh before you go

10 phrases to learn

In Bengali (Bangla). Capital letters show the stressed part. Tap the heart to practise a phrase later.

At the table

• Most Bangladeshis eat with their right hand. Wash your hands before and after the meal: restaurants have a wash basin, and at home a jug of water and a bowl are brought to the table.
• Mix a little rice with curry at the edge of your plate, make a small ball with your fingers and push it into your mouth with your thumb. Spoons are always available in city restaurants if you prefer.
• Never eat with your left hand, and use your right hand to pass food or to give and take anything.
• Ilish and many river fish are full of small bones. Eat slowly and put the bones at the edge of your plate.
• Most people are Muslim, so pork is not served and alcohol is restricted. During Ramadan do not eat, drink or smoke in public during the day, and accept an invitation to iftar at sunset if you can.

Local tips

Dishes to try

• Shorshe ilish (সর্ষে ইলিশ): Ilish, or hilsa, a rich and bony fish of the herring family, cooked in a sharp sauce of ground mustard seeds, mustard oil, turmeric and green chillies. Eaten with plain rice, it is many people's favourite dish and is often called the national dish.
• Panta bhat (পান্তা ভাত): Cooked rice left to soak in water overnight, so that it ferments a little and turns cool and slightly sour. It is eaten in the morning with salt, onion, green chilli and a mash of potato or fried fish.
• Kacchi biryani (কাচ্চি বিরিয়ানি): Aromatic rice layered with raw marinated mutton or goat and potatoes, then sealed and cooked slowly so the meat steams in its own juices. Kacchi means 'raw'. It is the classic dish of weddings in Dhaka, usually followed by a glass of borhani.
• Morog polao (মোরগ পোলাও): A fragrant pilaf of rice and chicken cooked with ghee, whole spices and a little milk or yoghurt, gentler than biryani. It is a signature festive dish of Dhaka.
• Bhuna khichuri (ভুনা খিচুড়ি): Rice and lentils fried in ghee with onion and spices, then cooked together into a soft, savoury dish. It is often eaten with fried egg, beef or aubergine, and many families cook it on rainy days.
• Aloo bhorta (আলু ভর্তা): Boiled potato mashed by hand with raw mustard oil, sliced onion, green or fried dried chilli and salt. Bhorta means a mash, and families make dozens of kinds, from aubergine, fish, lentils or tomato, to eat with rice.
• Kala bhuna (কালা ভুনা): Beef cooked slowly with onion, ginger, garlic, chilli and warm spices, then fried in its own sauce for a long time until it turns almost black and very tender. Kala means black, and bhuna is this way of frying spices and meat until dry and rich. It is a favourite at Chittagong's mezban feasts.
• Fuchka (ফুচকা): Small, hollow, crisp shells filled with a spicy mix of potatoes, chickpeas and onion, topped with grated boiled egg and eaten in one bite after a splash of sour tamarind water. The Bangladeshi cousin of Indian panipuri.

Cities to see

• Dhaka (capital): Lalbagh Fort and the Pink Palace, Cycle rickshaws and rickshaw art, Kacchi biryani and bakarkhani.
• Chittagong: The country's main seaport, Mezban feasts and kala bhuna, The gateway to the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
• Khulna: The gateway to the Sundarbans, Shrimp and fish farming, The Mosque City of Bagerhat nearby.
• Rajshahi: Rajshahi silk, Mangoes, The Varendra Research Museum.
• Sylhet: Tea gardens, The shrine of Shah Jalal, Ratargul Swamp Forest nearby.
• Barisal: Rivers and ferries, Canals and waterways, Coconut in its cooking.

Landmarks and the city map are on the Bangladesh trip