Bengali cooking uses many spices that are unknown or rare in the West. Besides the kalonji seed, you'll find frequent reference to black salt, silver leaf, mustard oil, tamarind, and mango powder. These recipes also use a significant amount of ginger, cilantro, cumin, and turmeric. Kirchner devotes one chapter to explaining the use of these spices, as well as how to recognize and find some of the less well known items. She also explains how to prepare eggplant for cooking The first chapter of recipes is devoted to dal .
Vegetarianism is common in Bengal, and the next chapter describes a number of vegetarian recipes.
Potatoes and eggplants make up the main part of many of these recipes. Squashes and pumpkins, and then greens fill out the end of the chapter. There is also a chapter on flatbreads, with puffed breads and filled breads. Prawns, shrimp, crab, scallops, clams, and mussels join the fish at your table. Poultry and meat are combined as one chapter.