How to make Shukto -

A traditional Bengali recipe.. a classic melange of vegetables cooked with poppy seeds and mustard .

Sanjeev Kapoor

This is a Sanjeev Kapoor exclusive recipe.

Main Ingredients : Bitter Gourd, White Raddish

Cuisine : Bengali

Course : Main Course Vegetarian


Shukto

Shukto Recipe Card

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The Bengalis are great food lovers and take pride in their cuisine.  In fact so obsessed are they about food, that the man of the house goes to the market daily to buy a fresh supply vegetables and fish which is a must in their daily menu.  The medium of cooking is mustard oil which adds its own pungency.  Another very important item of Bengali cuisine is the variety of sweets or mishti as they call them.  Most of them are milk based and are prepared from chhena.
A meal, for the Bengali, is a ritual in itself.  Bengalis spend not only the great deal of time thinking about the food but also on its preparation and eating. 

Prep Time : 26-30 minutes

Cook time : 26-30 minutes

Serve : 4

Level Of Cooking : Moderate

Taste : Mild

Ingredients for Shukto Recipe

  • Bitter Gourd Bitter gourd (karela) 1 medium

  • White Raddish 1 inch cubes 1 medium

  • Ridge gourd (turai) 1 inch cubes 1 medium

  • Sweet potatoes 1 inch cubes 1 medium

  • Potatoes 1 inch cubes 1 medium

  • Broad beans (sem ki phalli/papdi) 1 inch pieces 1 medium

  • Drumsticks 1 inch pieces 2

  • Eggplants/ brinjals 1 inch cubes 1 medium

  • Oil 5 tablespoons

  • Poppy seeds (khuskhus/posto) 2 tablespoons

  • Mustard seeds 1 teaspoon

  • Ginger 1 inch piece

  • Panch phoran 1 teaspoon

  • Bay leaves 2

  • Sugar 1 teaspoon

  • Salt to taste

  • Ghee 1 tablespoon

Method

Step 1

Wash and cut the bitter gourd into thin roundels. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan and fry bitter gourd slices lightly. Drain and keep aside. Make a thick paste of poppy seeds, mustard seeds and ginger.

Step 2

Heat the remaining oil in a kadai. Add panch phoron and bay leaves. When the seeds start to crackle, add the chopped vegetables and stir lightly.

Step 3

Add the ground spices and stir for five to seven minutes. Add two cups of water and cover. Cook on medium heat stirring occasionally till vegetables are almost cooked.

Step 4

Add the fried bitter gourd, salt and sugar. Stir and add a tablespoon of ghee. Cook for another two minutes till gravy is not too thick nor too dry. Serve hot.

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MasterChef Sanjeev Kapoor

Chef Sanjeev Kapoor is the most celebrated face of Indian cuisine. He is Chef extraordinaire, runs a successful TV Channel FoodFood, hosted Khana Khazana cookery show on television for more than 17 years, author of 150+ best selling cookbooks, restaurateur and winner of several culinary awards. He is living his dream of making Indian cuisine the number one in the world and empowering women through power of cooking to become self sufficient. His recipe portal www.sanjeevkapoor.com is a complete cookery manual with a compendium of more than 10,000 tried & tested recipes, videos, articles, tips & trivia and a wealth of information on the art and craft of cooking in both English and Hindi.