Mum's Recipe - Shukto

Shukto is a vegetarian Bengali dish, starring karela as the main ingredient. It's typically eaten at lunch time. There are many recipes for this floating on the internet, but this is my Mum's version.

Ingredients:
Vegetables -
Karela - 1
Potato - 1
String beans (barbatti) - 6-10
Eggplant - 1 (medium sized)
Raw banana - 1
Broad beans (shim) - 6-10
Daikon Radish (muli) - 1/2
Drumsticks (shojne daata) - 2
Bodi (optional) - 4-6
Panch phoron - 1 tsp whole, 1 tbsp ground to powder
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
Poppy seeds - 1 tbsp
Ghee - 2 tsp
Vegetable Oil - 2 tbsp
Flour - 1 tbsp
Milk - 1/2  cup
Sugar - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Karela and potatoes are the only ones that are mandatory. Apart from these, use any combination of the other vegetables that are available. However, for the authentic dish you need to use at least 3 additional vegetables.

1. Cut all vegetables (except karela) to 1.5-2 inch pieces (as in the picture). Slice the karela thinly and set aside.

2. Grind to a paste with water - ginger, fennel seeds, mustard seeds and poppy seeds. The paste should be quite smooth with no noticeable whole mustard or fennel seeds.

3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a deep kadhai and fry the bodi until golden brown. Remove bodi from pan and set aside.

3. Heat the remaining oil in the same kadhai and add whole panch phoron spices. Wait until the seeds start to pop and the aromas are released. Add all the vegetables except karela to the kadhai and sautee for  4-5 minutes.

4. When vegetables are slightly softened, add the spice paste, sugar, salt, fried bodi and enough water to cover the vegetables. Bring to a rolling boil.

5. While the vegetable mixture is boiling, heat 1 tbsp of ghee in a frying pan. Add the sliced karela and fry until slightly crisp and golden. Add the fried karela to the vegetable mixture.

6. In the same frying pan, heat the remaining ghee and add the powdered panch phoron mix. Pour the ghee mixture onto the vegetables.

7. Mix together the milk and flour to form a smooth paste and add it to the main dish.

8. Cover and continue to cook until the vegetables (potatoes, beans, etc) are tender.

Serve with hot steamed rice as the first course for a Bengali lunch!