How to Make “Shukto” A Traditional Bengali Delicacy
By: Shimanti Joarder
Tags: Chefs, Indian Food, Bengali, Foodies, Bengali Food

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Being born as a Bengali, I am a foodie by birth. Until a few years back, I couldn’t cook. I stayed alone and worked most of the time, hence processed food or Canteen food was my survival. Of course there were days when I use to treat myself with different cuisines but one dish I could never find anywhere or at least as good as my Nani and Mom use to make and that was ‘SHUKTO’. It was a pure delicacy. Only a Bengali will know what it means, it’s not food; it’s a feeling of being Bong.

So many years later when I got married and started cooking, I had to learn the recipe. Unfortunately my Nani was no more to share her lovely recipe with me so I turned to my mom to teach me ‘How to make Shukto’ so that I can satisfy my palate and also introduce it to my foodie husband.

So here I am sharing the authentic Bengali recipe of the famous “SHUKTO”

Ingredients required for cooking — 2 servings

Potato Brinjal Pointed Gourd Bitter Gourd Drumsticks Lentil Dumplings Ginger Fennel seeds Panch Phoran (mix of Fennel seeds, black cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, Mustard seeds, cumin seeds) Poppy seeds (Posto) The Salt Sugar Mustard oil or any vegetable oil Prepare a paste of poppy seed, fennel seeds, and ginger. All in proportion.

Cooking Time — 25 minutes

Recipe :

First cut the vegetables in a considerably big size. Wash and keep them aside. Heat the cooking pan or Kadhai and put any vegetable oil or preferably mustard to heat. Keep the flame medium to avoid burning any spices. Then add the mixture of all the five spices we had and let them splutter.

Once the spices have spluttered, add the large chunks of the vegetables in the pan and start frying them with the Panch Phoran. Add the lentil dumplings too. Fry them for around 5 minutes and then add the paste of poppy, fennel and, ginger to the vegetables and mix it all. Keep stirring all the ingredients together for around 5 minutes and then add water to the mix. Keep the water moderate as Shukto is gravy. Add a teaspoon of sugar and salt to taste. Let the mixture boil for about 10 minutes.

Let the mix simmer and then switch off the gas stove.

And it’s ready to serve.

It’s an easy recipe even for beginners like me. But I will admit it’s an acquired taste. For a Bengali person, Shukto holds a special place in his/her heart.

I hope this recipe will help a lot of young Bengali girls and guys, in India and abroad to have a taste of their tradition on their plate. For others, if you are a foodie, you must try this because it’s a different blend of spices with a mixture of sweet and salty magic for your palate. Shukto is full of nutrition for all those who are health conscious because of the good amount of veggies in it. The recipe doesn’t have any rich spices or too much oil to disturb your diet plan. It’s a very simple dish with basics herbs and spices of our regular kitchen. Pure vegetarian in form, this dish was very common in the old days at any Bengali family. Even today it is a very important part of the platter at any Bengali occasion or feast.

So here’s wishing good luck to new cooks and want to be chefs. Keep cooking and keep exploring the rich culture and food heritage of our country India.