Bengali Shukto Recipe

Summer means light food. When the sun is blazing outside at noon, it is better to avoid oil and salt in food as much as possible. That is why sukto is the eternal friend of Bengalis in hot weather.

Bengalis start eating with bitter gourd. And the first favorite bitter food of Bengalis is sukto. That bitter food can also be delicious can be understood by eating sukto. It is a vegetarian dish. It is made with plantain, stalk, brinjal, beans, gourd or bitter gourd. However, if you want, you can keep a touch of non-vegetarian food in that vegetarian dish too.

The dish is not new at all. Rather, it is very old. Be it a family meal or any other event, Bengalis are not willing to avoid sukto.

Sukto has practically become a part of Bengalis' identity. And there is no question of it in the summer. Sukto will always be in the pan. The variations of this ancient dish are endless. Many people cook Sukto in many ways. However, if you can cook Sukto with milk, its color becomes as pleasant as its taste. That eternally new recipe remains.

A Bengali lunch is never complete without Shukto and is a bengali starter that typically contains bitter gourd as the main ingredient. Shukto is of various types, and is a mix of vegetables with an emphasis to the bitterness, which is bitter in taste because of the bitter gourd, which is the most important ingredient of this preparation.

Here is a recipe of the Shukto:

Ingredients:

1 medium potato, cubed
1 cup carrot, cubed
1 cup beans, cubed
1 raw banana, cubed
1 medium eggplant, cubed
1 radish, cubed
1 cup peas
1 tomato, sliced
1 cucumber, cubed
2 drumsticks, sliced
2 bitter gourd, thinly sliced
2 green chillies, slit
4 tbsp mustard oil
1 tsp clarified butter (optional)
1 tsp ginger, grated
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp poppy seeds
1 tbsp fenugreek seeds
1 tbsp celery
1 tbsp mustard seeds
1 cup coconut milk
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste

Method:

Soak mustard seeds, fenugreek and poppy seeds in warm water. Blend them along with the ginger in a blender, into a smooth paste.

Heat 2 tbsp of mustard oil in a wok and saute the bittergourd, eggplant and potatoes separately and keep aside.

Pour in rest of the oil and throw in bay leaves and celery and fry for a few seconds. Add green chillies, potato, eggplant, radish, zucchini, carrot, beans, banana and drumsticks and stir fry in medium heat. After about 5 minutes, add the blended mixture of mustard and poppy and turmeric to the vegetables and stir continuously for 2 minutes. Sprinkle a little hot water. Cover and cook till all the vegetables soften, stirring occasionally.

As the vegetables get cooked pour in the coconut milk, bitter gourd, salt, sugar and the ghee. Add about cup of water and cover the wok with a lid for about 5 minutes till gravy is not too thick nor too dry.

Serve with hot rice.