Shukto is a popular vegetable dish in Bengali cuisine usually served with rice in the West Bengal state of India and in the neighbouring country Bangladesh. It has slightly bitter taste and is especially served in the banquets of Bengali social ceremonies like Annaprasana, Sraddhya or Bengali Wedding as a part of traditional Bengali thali.
The tradition of starting a meal by consuming bitters, considered to have a medicinal value, dates back to the ancient times and was promoted by the authors of Ayurveda. Shukto was consumed as a cooling agent in the hot and humid climates of the ancient kingdoms of undivided Bengal like Anga, Vanga and Kalinga. Shukto is also mentioned in Mangal-Kāvya, written during the medieval period and in the biographies of Sri Chaitanya.
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Shukto
Course : Side Dish
Cuisine : Indian
Prep time : 10 minutes
Process time : 10 minutes
Total time : 20 minutes
Ingredients:
Brinjal - 2
Bitter gourd - 2
Beans - 2
Potato - 1
Radish - 1
Coconut - 1/4 cup
Ginger - 1 inch
Poppy seeds - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
Bay leaf - 1
Milk - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 tsp
Salt - as per taste
Oil - 3 tsp
Instructions:
In a mixer grinder, add coconut, poppy seeds, mustard seeds, ginger and grind to smooth paste and keep aside
In a pan add oil, fry brinjal and bitter gourd until its half cooked, strain and keep aside
In the same oil add mustard seeds and bay leaf, allow them to crackle
Then add masala paste to it and sauté them until aromatic
Add beans, potato, radish to it and mix
Add milk and required water
Add salt as per taste and sugar to it, mix and cook
Now add fried brinjal and bitter gourd to it
Cover and cook until its fully cooked
Serve hot
Pictorial:
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