Monday 27 July 2015

Shukto


Shukto
 
Shukto-Bengali treat as a very special and traditional dish and have it on occasion like Marriage, Birthday etc specially those are from west Bengal, but as part of Lunch only. It’s a Bengali mixed vegetarian dish comprising of several veggies inclusive of Bitter Gourd, Green Banana & Drum sticks, with poppy seeds and mustard seeds paste and there are one more exclusive spice I used in my shukto recipe which is known as “Randhuni” that many Bengalis prefer to use while preparing shukto.
Ingredients
Uchche/Bitter Gourd(Karela): 1 (cut it in vertical pieces)
Begun / Eggplants: 1 (cut it vertically small pieces)
Kanchkola/ Green Banana/ Raw Cooking Banana: 1(cut it  2”vertically small pieces)
Potato/ aloo: 1 (cut it  2”vertically small pieces)
Sweet potato/ Ranga Aloo/ Sakkar Kandi: 1 (cut it  2”vertically small pieces)
Drumsticks/ Danta/ Danthal: 2 (cut it  2”vertically small pieces)
White radish/ Mulo/ Mooli: 1 (cut it  2”vertically small pieces)
Sheem/ Hyacinth Beans: 4-5 (cut it  2”vertically small pieces)
Ridge Gourd: 1(cut it  2”vertically small pieces)
Bori: 10-15
Poppy seeds/ Khuskhus/Posto paste: 2 Tbsp.
Mustard paste: 2 Tbsp.
Ginger paste: 1 Tbsp.
Panchphoran: 1 Tsp.
Radhuni: 2 Tsp.
Bay Leaves 2
Sugar: 1 Tbsp.
Salt to taste
Mustard Oil: for Frying and Tempering (around 4 Tbsp.)
Ghee/clarified butter: 1 Tbsp.
Milk: 1 cup
Water: 3-4 cup
Method
1  1. Hit Mustard Oil in a Wok and fry Bari in medium flame.
2. Now sprinkle some salt to the pieces of Eggplant and Ridge Gourd and fry.
3. After that fry Bitter gourd.
4. Now fry Green Banana, Potato, and Sweet potato, Drumsticks, White radish and Hyacinth Beans one by one.
5. Heat the remaining oil in a kadai and add panch phoron , radhuni and bay leaves. When the seeds start to crackle Add Ginger paste and cook for 1-2 minutes and add Poppy seed paste and cook for around 2 minutes.
6. Now add Mustard paste and again cook for around 2 minutes.

7. Add Salt and Sugar again cook for 1-2 minutes and then add milk and water to the Spice mix and bring it to boil.
8. Add all the veggies and cover the wok with a lid.
9. Cook for around 8-10 minutes in low flame or till the veggies cooked properly.
10. Check the water level and if required add some more water since Shukto should have sufficient gravy.
11. Add Ghee to the Curry and boil for around 2 minutes and switch the flame off.
12. Shukto is ready and served with plain Rice.
Tips: Panch Phoron is a mixture of equal quantities of fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds,mustard seeds, onion seeds and cumin seeds.