Shukto Recipe

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Shukto is a traditional Bengali mixed vegetable dish with a creamy gravy, mild bitterness and a little sweetness. Made with bitter gourd, raw plantain, potatoes, brinjal, drumsticks and Bengali urad dal bori, it is flavored with mustard-poppy seed paste, panch phoron and roasted ground spices. Serve shukto with steamed rice at the beginning of a traditional Bengali meal.

Prep Time20

Cook Time45

Total Time1 5

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Bengali

Diet: Vegetarian

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Servings:

Calories: 360kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

Vegetables

¾ cup or 2 to 3 small-sized bitter gourds – cut into thick sticks or wedges
1 cup or 3 small-sized raw unripe plantains – cut into thick batons
1 cup or 1 medium to large potato – cut into wedges
¾ cup or 1 small-sized sweet potato – cut into thick batons or wedges
3 small-sized brinjals – cut lengthwise
½ cup or 8 to 10 French beans – cut into 2 to 2½ inch pieces
1 cup or 2 drumsticks – cut into 3-inch pieces
10 to 12 Bengali urad dal bori

For Mustard-Poppy Seed Paste

2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
2 teaspoons or 2 inches ginger – chopped
4 tablespoons water or add as needed
2 to 3 pinches salt

For Roasted Spice Powder

1 teaspoon radhuni (wild celery seeds)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

Other Ingredients

4 to 5 tablespoons mustard oil or add more if needed
1 teaspoon Panch Phoron
2 dried red chilies – halved and seeds removed
1 tejpatta (Indian bay leaf)
2 pinches asafoetida
2 green chilies – slit on one side and kept whole
3 to 4 tablespoons water – for mixing with poppy seeds paste
1 teaspoon sugar
salt – add as required
2 cups water or add as needed
½ cup whole milk or thick coconut milk, read point no 9 in notes below
1 teaspoon ghee – add more if preferred

Instructions

Preparation

Rinse all the vegetables. Lightly peel the plantains, drumsticks and the bitter gourd. Peel the potatoes and sweet potatoes.
Chop the raw plantains and bitter gourds into thick batons lengthwise, potatoes into wedges, French beans into 2 to 2½-inch pieces and drumsticks into 2½ to 3-inch pieces.
Cut the sweet potato into thick batons or wedges. Cut each of the 3 small brinjals lengthwise into 4 pieces.
Keep the cut plantains, brinjals, potato and sweet potato separately in water to prevent discoloration. Rub a little salt over the bitter gourd and rinse.
Grind the poppy seeds, yellow mustard seeds, ginger, salt and water to a fine paste. Keep aside.

Frying Vegetables

Drain the brinjal, raw plantain and rinsed bitter gourd well. Pat them dry with a clean kitchen towel before frying to prevent oil from spluttering.
Heat mustard oil in a kadai or heavy-bottomed pan. Fry the brinjal until cooked and lightly golden. Sprinkle one to two pinches of salt while frying. Remove and keep aside.
Fry the raw plantain pieces until cooked and lightly golden. Add one to two pinches of salt while frying. Remove and keep aside.
Fry the Bengali bori until golden and crisp. Remove and keep aside. Add more oil if needed.
Fry the bitter gourd separately until cooked and lightly golden. Remove and keep aside.
Add the potato and sweet potato to the remaining oil and sauté for 6 to 7 minutes.
Add the French beans and drumsticks and continue sautéing for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove and keep aside.

Making Roasted Spice Powder

Meanwhile, dry roast the radhuni, cumin, fennel and black mustard seeds on low heat for about 3 to 4 minutes or until aromatic.
Coarsely crush the roasted spices using a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Keep aside.

Making Shukto

Add 1 tablespoon mustard oil to the same pan if needed. Add the panch phoron and let it splutter. Add the dried red chilies, tej patta and asafoetida.
Fry for a few seconds on low heat until the red chilies change color. Ensure not to burn the spices.
Add the mustard-poppy seed paste and mix well. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons water to prevent sticking and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until small specks of oil appear on the surface.
Add the sautéed potatoes, sweet potatoes, drumsticks and French beans. Mix well. Pour in the water, add the green chilies and season carefully with salt.
Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. This takes about 5 to 6 minutes. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about 10 to 12 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Add the separately fried bitter gourd, brinjal, raw plantain and bori. Mix gently.

Finishing Shukto

Once the vegetables are cooked, lower the heat. Add the milk and sugar, mix gently and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the roasted spice powder and ghee. Do not stir immediately.
Turn off the heat, cover and let the Shukto rest for about 5 minutes.
Gently stir and serve warm with steamed rice.

Notes

Use thickly cut vegetables so that they do not become mushy during cooking.
Fry the bitter gourd separately to help keep the gravy mildly bitter rather than overly bitter.
If the bitter gourd is particularly bitter, rub the cut pieces with salt, leave for 10 to 15 minutes and rinse before frying.
Fry the brinjal, plantain and bori separately for better texture.
Add salt carefully, as some salt has already been used while frying the vegetables and preparing the paste.
Use mustard oil for its characteristic flavor and aroma.
Roast the finishing spices on low heat until aromatic and crush them coarsely.
Add milk on low heat and avoid vigorous boiling.
Feel free to use thick coconut milk or canned coconut milk instead of whole milk. Add some more water if needed to adjust the consistency.
The consistency of the gravy is medium-thick. For a medium or medium-thin gravy, add a little hot water as needed.
Allow the Shukto to rest after adding the ghee and roasted spices before stirring and serving.

Nutrition