Shukto | Bengali Vegetable Stew |
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Bengali
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • Vegetables
  • Aloo, Potato: 1, medium
  • Kachkola, Raw banana or plantain: 1
  • Lau, Bottle gourd: 6-8 big chunks or half of 1 medium sized lau
  • Begun, Eggplant: 6-7 pieces or 1 small sized
  • Sheem, Snow Peas: handful
  • Danta, Drumstick: 1, cut into bite size pieces
  • Uchhe, Bitter gourd: 6-7, cut into quarters
  • Tempering Oil
  • Ghee, clarified butter: 1 tsp
  • Bay leaf: 1-2
  • Dry red chilli: 1
  • Panchforon, Bengali five spice: 1 heaped tsp
  • Ginger, freshly pounded/grated: 2 tsp
  • Others
  • Posto bata, Poppy seed paste: 2 tbsp
  • Shorshe bata, Mustard seed paste: 2 tsp
  • Coconut milk: ½ cup
  • Shukto Malsala or Bengali Garam Masala: 1 tsp
  • Sugar: 1 tsp
  • Salt: 2 tsp
  • Mustard oil: ½ cup
  • Bori, wadi, lentil dumpling: 10-12, medium sized
Instructions
  1. Pour mustard oil in a deep bottomed pan and heat to smoking point.
  2. Fry each vegetable separately till veggies just begin to soften. Keep the fried vegetables separately until needed. Begin frying with potato and end with bitter gourd.
  3. Fry bori/wadi and keep aside. Add more mustard oil if required.
  4. Heat ghee in the same pan and temper with bay leaf, dry red chilli and panchforon.
  5. Add ginger and fry for 30 secs.
  6. Gradually add posto bata and shorshe bata along with sugar and salt. Fry for another minute or until raw smell is gone.
  7. Once masala leaves oil, add coconut milk little by little and mix well.
  8. Once bubbles start forming add warm water and bring it to boil.
  9. Add all veggies at once into the pan; cover and cook for 10 mins.
  10. Adjust seasoning. Add bori and freshly grounded shukto masala (use Bengali garam masala in absence of shukto masala) and serve immediately with steamed rice.
Recipe by Scratching Canvas at http://www.scratchingcanvas.com/shukto-recipe/