Shukto

Shukto

I remember a few years back there was a mega crisis of onions in the country. Untimely rains had destroyed the onion crops and the prices had sky rocketed. We got to hear all about it on the news. However we never felt the pinch because onions are not a staple in Bengali cuisine. 90% of our food is cooked without onions or garlic. The real flavour of the vegetables is what is important and using onions and spices camouflages that taste.

Shukto is a mixed vegetable medley simmered in milk and mustard gravy. This is a special dish in Bengali culture and is usually prepared during annaprashan, marriages or when some esteemed guests come over. It is not for the faint hearted as we Bongs are very critical about the Shukto preparation. A new bride’s future reputation as a good “bouma” depends on how well she cooks her first shukto. A host’s reputation for hosting a “darun ranna” depends on whether her guests ply their plates with shukto as equally as they relish the “maach”. So you get the point. Shukto is the nemesis for beginner cooks. It is the pinnacle of achievement for experienced cooks.

Each family tweaks the Shukto recipe a bit to add their special touch and then it is kept as a closely guarded secret. It might be the variation in different kinds of vegetables, use of badi/vadi, a hint of coconut, adding posto, and so on. So feel free to add your own special touch to the dish.

Ingredients

2 karela/bittergourd

2 raw banana

4 parwal

8 fench beans

8 cheem/hyacinth beans

1 medium brinjal

4 drumsticks

6 badi/vadi

4 tbsp mustard seeds

2 tbsp khus khus seeds

½ cup milk

1 tbsp paanch phoron

2 dry red chillies

1 ½ tsp salt

½ tsp sugar

1 tbsp ghee

Soak the mustard seeds and the poppy seeds in warm water for 30 minutes. Make a paste with 2 green chillies and ½ tsp salt.

First chop the vegetables into bite sized pieces.

Heat some oil. Fry the badiyaan and remove. In the same oil add the dry red chillies and paanch phoron. Add the chopped karela first and fry for some time. This is done because rest of the vegetables will cook faster than the karela. If you add all at once the other vegetables will turn mushy while you wait for the karela to cook.

Once the karela is cooked for some time add rest of the vegetables. Saute them on high heat. Add the mustard poppy seed paste. Season with salt and sugar. Add ½ cup water and bring to a boil. Add the badiyan. Cover and cook till the vegetables are done. Add the milk and simmer some more. Add the ghee before taking off heat.