Shukto a Bengali delicacy | Bengali Mix-veg Shukto Recipe

Shukto is a famous Bengali curry. This is cooked with various veggies and we mostly stsrt s traditional Bengali meal with rice and shuktoni.

"ছি ছি ছি রানী রাঁধতে শেখেনি... শুক্তনিতে ঝাল দিয়েছে অম্বলেতে ঘি!" the famous Bengali Song depicting how to cook Shukto properly! What else can I have taken to start this post! This song goes like this if translated. Rani does not know how to cook; She has added chili to Shuktoni/ Shukto and Ghee to Ambal/ Chutney! It seems obvious from the song that chili is considered as completely no-no to Shukto.

Some tricks for cooking perfect shukto!

By the way, I love to temper my Shukto with a piece of dried Red Chili. I do it every time I prepare Shukto or Shuktoni. Ummmm which means I can not cook Shukto! My father believes a Bengali cook must be judged by his/ her capacity to cook Shukto! I know this is lame on his part but at times we need to obey our parents; don't we 🙂 .

Why Shuktoni?

Believe me or not the cooking strength is judged by his/her skill to prepare Shukto properly at my parents! This is something that makes me worried each time I cook it at home. I have grown up seeing my mother and aunts cutting and chopping veggies with ease followed by cooking a big batch of Shukto. For me making Shukto is nothing but tedious. Almost every time, preparing Shukto for lunch is followed by no other dish on that day and something from outside in Dinner! I just fail to understand how Maa is able to prepare it so smoothly and without any mess in the kitchen! I mostly prepare Shukto a bit extra so that hubby can consume it for 2-3 days simultaneously.

The husbandman is a  fan of this dish and he can have his entire plate of rice only with it. Needless to say, whenever I cook Shukto, I cook it in bulk. I prefer to follow the recipe I learned from the Matriarch of my family. The process calls for Randhuni. I prefer to follow the detailed process where "Randhuni" plays a major role. In this post, I tried to detail the traditional process of making Shukto. Obviously while writing the recipe I have not mentioned Dried Red Chili but it clearly showing its presence in each picture. So the choice is yours; whether to add or not!

At Mehebub's parents'; Shukto is not that popular. The Shukto I had there was a bit flat. However, Mother in law is a great cook when it comes to other dishes that include Aande ka Halwa or Masoor Dal with Malabar Spinach, etc.

Bengali Shukto

We Bongs; treat Shukto as a special dish and we have it on occasion like Marriage, Birthday, etc. but as part of Lunch only. It’s a Bengali Mixed vegetarian dish comprising of several veggies inclusive of Bitter Guard, Eggplant, Green Banana, Potato, Sweet potato, Drumsticks, White radish, and Hyacinth Beans. There is one exclusive spice that many Bongs prefer to use while preparing it which is known as “Randhuni” and I also love to use Randhuni while cooking it. I mostly purchase Randhuni from Kolkata and store for future use.

Here's how I cook Bengali Shukto aka Shuktoni at Debjanir Rannaghar!

Shukto a Bengali delicacy

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• Author: Debjani
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 40 mins
• Yield: 6 Portions 1x
• Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

Shukto is a famous Bengali Mixed Vegetarian dish served with Rice.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 4 Uchche/ Bitter Gourd
• 1 Begun / Eggplants
• 1 Kanchkola/ Plaintain/ Raw Cooking Banana (Small)
• 2 Potato/ Aloo (Medium)
• 2 Sweet Potato/ Ranga Aloo/ Sakkar Kandi (Small)
• 2 Drumsticks/ Danta/ Danthal
• 1 White radish/ Mulo/ Mooli
• 5 Sheem/ Hyacinth Beans
• 10-15 Bori
• 2 Tbsp. Poppy seeds/ Khuskhus/Posto
• 1 Tbsp. Mustard  Seed
• 1 Tbsp. Ginger paste
• 1 Tsp. Panchphoran/ Bengali Five Spices
• 2 Tsp. Randhuni (optional)
• 1 Tsp. Turmeric Powder (optional)
• 1 Tbsp. Sugar
• 1 Tsp. Salt
• 4 Tbsp. Mustard Oil for Frying and Tempering
• 1 Tbsp. Ghee/clarified butter
• 1 Cup Milk
• 4 cup Water

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Instructions

1. Soak both Mustard Seed and Poppy seed in water for 10 minutes.
2. Make a smooth paste of Poppyseed and Mustard Seed separately using a food processor or Shil Nora (Shil Batta).
3. Strain the mixture to remove the husk.
4. Crush 1Tsp. Randhuni. Use 1 Tsp. whole Randhuni as tempering.
5. Wash all the veggies.
6. Cut Bitter Gourd, Eggplant, Green Banana, Potato, Sweet potato, White radish, and Hyacinth Beans into rectangular strips ( 1/2") and Drumsticks into 2" long strips after peeling the outer skin of each veggie except Eggplant.
7. Heat Mustard Oil in a Wok.
8. Now sprinkle some salt and turmeric powder over the pieces of Eggplant and fry in the remaining oil.
9. After that fry Bitter gourd.
10. Now fry Bari in medium flame and strain from oil.
11. Temper remaining oil with Panchphoron and Randhuni.
12. Now fry Green Banana, Potato, and Sweet potato, Drumsticks, White radish, and Hyacinth Beans one by one.
13. Do not strain the veggies from the pan from now on.
14. Add the Ginger paste and cook for 1-2 minutes and add Poppy seed paste and Mustard paste and again cook for around 2 minutes.
15. Add Turmeric Powder (optional), Salt and Sugar again cook for 1-2 minutes.
16. Now add milk and water to the Spice mix and bring it to boil.
17. Add all the fried veggies along with raw Drumstick and cover the wok with a lid.
18. Cook for around 8-10 minutes on low flame or till the veggies cooked properly.
19. Check the water level and if required add some more water since Shukto should have sufficient gravy.
20. Now add crushed Randhuni.
21. Add Ghee to the Curry and boil for around 2 minutes and switch the flame off.
22. Shukto is ready to serve.
23. Serve it hot with steamed rice to initiate the meal.

Notes

Cut all the veggies except drumsticks in equal size.
Panchphoron is a mixture of Nigella, Cumin Seed, Fenugreek, Fennel, and mustard seeds in equal proportion.
You may use only Mustard seed instead of Panch Phoron.
Turmeric Powder is optional however, I am allergic to Eggplant and hence I prefer to add it
Randhuni is a close relative of Celery Seed. In Bengali cuisine, Randhuni is used for tempering the oil.

• Category: Side Dish
• Method: Cooking
• Cuisine: Bengali

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 100g
• Calories: 323
• Sugar: 12.6g
• Sodium: 428mg
• Fat: 14.7g
• Saturated Fat: 2.9g
• Carbohydrates: 42.7g
• Fiber: 11.6g
• Protein: 8.9g
• Cholesterol: 8mg

Keywords: Shukto recipe, Bengali Shukto recipe, Debjanir rannaghar

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Other Bengali No Onion No garlic Preparations apart from Shukto from Debjanir Rannaghar:

• Narkel diye Niramish Ghugni (Also known as Bengali Ghugni or Yellow Peas Curry)
• Phulkopir Singara (also known as Kolkata style Fulkopir Shingara)
• Bori Aloor Jhal (Also known as Bengali Bori’r Jhal)
• Lau Shaker Chorchori (Also known as Bengali Vegetarian Mishmash with Bottle Gourd Greens)
• Katoya Data Chorchori (Also known as Bengali Style Mix-veg with Drumsticks)
• Papor er Dalna (Also known as Bengali Papad Curry)
• Sheemer Jhal (Also known as Bengali Shorshe Sheem or Broad Bean Curry with Mustard Paste)
• Panch Mishali Tarkari (Also known as Panch Mishili Torkari)
• Phulkopir Roast (Also known as Bengali Roasted Cauliflower)
• Lau ar Aloo er Khosa Bhaja (Also known as Stir-Fried Bottle Gourd and Potato Skin/ Peel )
• Narkel diye Cholar Dal (Also known as Bengali Cholar Dal)
• Kumror Chakka (Also known as Bengali Pumpkin curry)

• Chanar Dalna (Also known as Bengali Cottage Cheese and Potato Curry)

• Aloo Phulkopir Dalna (Also known as Bengali Potato and Cauliflower Curry)
• Rosogollar Dalna (Also known as Bengali Rasgulla Curry)
• Sada Aloo Chorchori (also known as Bengali Potato Curry)
• Lomba Dantiwala Begun Bhaja (Bengali fried Eggplant)
• Bengali Kolai Dal (Also known as Biulir Dal or Bengali Urad Dal)
• Postor Bora (Also known as Bengali Poppy Seed Fritters)
• Aloo Posto (Also known as Bengali Poppy Seed curry with potato)
• Gota Sheddho (Also known as Bengali Veggie Cold soup Gota)
• Kancha Aamer Chutney (Also known as Bengali Raw mango chutney)
• Dhokar Dalna (also known as Bengali Lentil Cake Curry)
• Paneer er Dalna (also known as Niramish Paneer Torkari)
• Niramish Bhuni Khichuri (also known as Bengali Bhuni Khichuri)
• Neem Begun (also known as Bengali nim Begun Bhaji)
• Chana Bhapa (also known ad Bengali Bhapa Chenna)

Have you tried the Shukto Recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar!

Do let me know how it came out. Also, I would love to see a picture of the same which you can share here on dolonchttrj@gmail.com, or on Instagram you can use my hashtag #debjanirrannaghar or can tag me at @foodofdebjani.

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