Shukto

Shukto is a typical Bengali dish. This traditional Bengali recipe usually has a bit bitter taste. It is prepared with several vegetables and pinch of sugar to adjust the bitterness.

Ingredients:

• Drumstick – 50 gm (cut the drumstick into 2” long strips)
• Radish- sliced one piece
• Bitter gourd-100 gm, nicely sliced
• Mustard seed- two tablespoon
• Whole mustard seeds-1/2 tablespoon
• Five spices-1/2 tablespoon
• Raw banana or plantain- one piece sliced
• Flat beans -50 gm cut out into two end points
• Barbatti or yard long beans : 100 gm
• Ginger paste: 1 tablespoon
• Turmeric powder : ½ tablespoon
• Sugar: ½ tablespoon
• Clarified butter or Ghee- 1 tablespoon
• Eggplant/Brinjal: One piece (sliced)
• Bori-50 gm
• Dry Red chili- one piece
• Salt to taste
• Bay Leaf-one piece
• Oil: 9 table spoon

Procedure:

Take a wok. Heat four tablespoon of oil Add bori to the oil Fry bori till brown Take out the bori and keep it aside Add 4 tablespoon of oil Add in the bitter gourd and then fry till brown Take out and keep it aside. Add in potato, raw banana, brinjal, radish, long yard beans, flat beans, drumstick and rest vegetables in the oil. Stir for three minutes. Add sugar, salt, ginger paste and turmeric powder. Stir well for about two minutes or so. Pour four cups of water. Cover and cook for five minutes Remove the vegetable mixture from the heat and keep aside. Heat one table spoon of oil and ghee in a separate wok. Now add in dry red chilli, bay leaf and whole mustard seeds and stir the aroma releases. Add the mustard seed paste and vegetable mixture Add fried bori and bitter gourd Boil the mixture till it thickens. Remove from the heat and serve the shukto with steamed rice.

Bengali Style Mutton Preparation

Ingredients

• Mutton: 500 gm (4 servings)
• Minched Cloves
• Two finely chopped onions
• Chili powder
• Two bay leaves
• Blended ginger and garlic paste
• Garam masala
• Meat masala
• One cup curd
• One cup of mustard oil
• Salt to taste
• Mashed tomato

Preparation:

First of all, cut the mutton into pieces and place them into a pressure cooker. Put it over the flame and then heat for seven to eight whistles. Now you can place the pressure cooker aside. Take a pan and heat the oil and then sauté the ginger, garlic and onion till the color turns into brownish. Now add in the mashed tomato and the sauté in the low steam for about two to three minutes.
Now add the meat masala and garam masala and sauté for another two minutes or so. Now add in a bit of water into it and sauté for another one minute. Open pressure cooker and add in the mutton onto the frying pan. Add salt to taste and little water and mix them well with the mutton. Cover and then cook for ten minutes in medium steam. Serve hot when ready with toasted bun or with sauce.

Amer Chatni

One of the popular recipes of Bengalis, Amer chatni is prepared from green mangoes.

Ingredients:

• Two table spoon of oil
• Salt to taste
• ½ kg of green mangoes
• 1 cup of jiggery or sugar
• ¾ table spoon of panch phoron
• Two red chilies whole

Preparation

• Take the green mangoes and cut them with the skin and make them into boat shapes.
• Heat up the oil in a pan
• Mix ½ table spoon of panch phoron and then the dry red chilies to the oil
• Once you hear the crackling noise, mix in the green mangoes
• Mix in some warm water
• Mix in sugar or jiggery
• Mix in salt when the green mangoes are cooked and the syrup looks thick
• Roast about ¼ table spoon of panch phoron on the tawa and then grind it to powder
• When the chutney cools down, sprinkle this powder on the top.

Cholar Dal- another Bengali recipe

Cholar Dal

Ingredients:

• Raisins- one table spoon
• Salt to taste
• Cumin powder- one tablespoon
• Bengal gram divide or chana dal – 250 grams
• Sugar- two to four tablespoon
• Turmeric Powder- one tablespoon
• Chilli Powder – one table spoon
• Coconut -1/4th
• Bay leave-3
• Coriander powder- one tablespoon
• Garam masala powder- one table spoon
• Ghee- one table spoon
• Green chillies slit- four to six

Preparation:

• Wash the dal and then boil with four cups of water.
• Mix in cumin, turmeric, silt green chillies and garam masala.
• Mix in sugar and salt to taste.
• Mix well and then stir fry till the time the dal is thick and soft.
• Heat up some ghee in a pan or kadhai.
• Now mix the garam masala and bay leaves
• When it stops spluttering then mix in it to the dal.
• Mix it thoroughly
• Cut coconut into tiny dices and then fry them in ghee till they turn light brown
• Mix in the coconut fry into the dal and stir
• Serve hot with luchi

Aloo Phulkopir Dalna - A Bengali Recipe

Aloo Phulkopir Dalna is an easy and simple Bengali recipe.

Ingredients:

• One kg of cauliflower
• One table spoon of turmeric powder
• One tablespoon of red chili powder
• Four medium tomatoes
• Two table spoon of coriander powder
• Two table spoon of ghee
• Potatoes- 500 gms
• One table spoon of whole garam masala
• One table spoon of cumin powder
• Two onions (medium size)
• Two bay leaves
• Oil to deep fry
• Four table spoon of mustard oil.

Preparation

• Peel off and cut the potatoes into quarters. Cut the cauliflower into medium sized florets. Now cut the tomatoes into quarters.
• Take off the skin and mince the onions.
• Heat up the oil in a pot and when hot, light fry the potatoes and drain.
• Fry the florets of cauliflower till they turn out a little brown.
• Remove and keep it aside
• Take off the oil.
• In the same pot heat up the ghee and then mix in the bay leaves and the whole garam masala. Stir fry for about thirty seconds
• Mix in the cut onion and then fry till it turns golden in color.
• Mix in all the masala powders and stir fry for about a minute while taking care that the masala does not stick to the bottom.
• Mix in a table spoon of water if required.
• Now mix in the cauliflower, potatoes and the tomatoes
• Stir fry for some time
• Mix in once cup of water, cover and then stir fry over a medium heat.
• Continue stirring from time to time
• Take off from the heat up when the veggies are cooked and nearly dry.