
Bengali Shukto recipe / Bengali mixed vegetable with Bitter gourd

Today I will share how to make Bengali Shukto recipe / Bengali mixed vegetable with Bitter gourd which is a famous and popular Bengali dish. Shukto is a mix of many vegetables, and the main ingredient is a bitter gourd, altogether they impart a unique flavor. Without this typical Bengali menu, it is just incomplete to make a Bengali Thali.
My other version of Shukto is much easier than this, if you want to make it a regular basis, then you can go for this

Equipment required
- Pressure cooker
- Blender
- Colander
- Wire skimmer
- Frying pan
- Spatula
Ingredients
Papaya-1/2(curry cut)
Drumstick-2
Raw banana-1
Bori (sun-dried lentil fritters)
Sweet potato-1
Potato-1
Bitter gourd/ karela-1
Egg plant-1(small)
Green chili-2
Poppy seeds-1 tbsp
Mustard seeds-1 tbsp
Bay leaves-2
Ginger-1/2 inch
Red chili-1
Panchphoron-1 tbsp (½ tbsp for tempering and another half for roasted powder)
Radhuni-1/2 tbsp (for roasted powder)
Turmeric powder-1/2 tbsp
Cumin powder-1/2 tbsp
Mustard oil-4 tbsp (1 tbsp for Shukto gravy, and leftover for deep fry the vegetables)
Ghee/clarified butter-1 tbsp
Milk-3 tbsp(optional)
Sugar-1/2 tbsp
Salt
How to make Bengali Shukto recipe / Bengali mixed vegetable with Bitter gourd
First curry cut all the vegetables; and put papaya, sweet potato, and drumsticks in a pressure cooker and wait for one whistle on high flame

Take a blender jar, and add soaked (10 minutes) poppy seeds, mustard seeds, green chili, and ginger; and make a fine paste


Take a small kadai and deep fry the bori with the help of a Wire skimmer

Next, fry the bitter gourd

And the same way fry the eggplant

Now open the lid of the pressure cooker after releasing the pressure

And strain them with the help of a colander, and keep the stock for the gravy

Heat oil in a pan, and add bay leaves, red chili, and panchphoron for tempering

As they splatter and sizzle, add raw bananas and potatoes, and stir them for a minute

Now add turmeric powder and cumin powder and sauté them till the raw smell goes off

Add the boiled vegetables and mix them well


Now add the poppy seeds and mustard seeds paste

Cook them for a minute to mix the paste well with the veggies

Add the veg stock and mix them well

Add salt and sugar

Now add the fried karela and eggplant


Cover the lid and allow them to cook for 5 minutes to boil the potato and green banana

Open the cover and add the fried bori

Add milk and the Shukto masala powder (roast the same amount of radhuni and panchphoron and grind them. Sometimes you may find radhuni in panchphoron also but in a very less percentage)

Add ghee/ clarified butter

Now transfer them to a serving plate and serve hot with plain rice and dal