Shukto - A Pride of West Bengal

WEST BENGAL…....ahhh ROSUGULLA is the first thing that comes to my mind whenever I think of West Bengal . Bengalis are well known for their sweet tooth but did you know that the lovers of Rosugulla start their meal with a bitter and sour dish without which their meal is incomplete. It is a complex dish having the proper mixture and balance of tastes and textures. It is a thick soupy mixture of vegetables in ginger mustard sauce called SHUKTO. Shukto is often a critical measure of a Bengalis cooking ability.

History

Shukto as it's name sounds it is an ethnic and an old food recipe used by most of the West Bengal as one of the popular ones among them. Now, what is it's origin? Where did the recipe come from? Or was it founded within India itself or is it an outside influence?

As amazed as we are it's actually a dish formed by foreign influence. There are different types of beliefs or theories related to it. But the one which is popular is that this supposedly Bengali delicacy originated from Portugal. It is said that Portuguese cuisine had a great influence along the shores of Bengal. The Portuguese tweaked a dish similar to their own by using local ingredients like the bitter gourd. The story goes that the Portuguese used it to create a dish which worked as a mouth freshener combined with a couple of other vegetables. Well, the cultural impact of trade is evident in India’s cuisine.

Gradually, the Bengalis adapted it and made it their own by adding baris, milk and their favorite mustard oil and mustard seeds and vegetables other than was used.

Specialty

Shukto is an essential part of authentic Bengali steamed rice-meal. This is actually a Bengali version of mixed vegetable. The specialty of this bitter-sweet dish is the aroma of spices. There are many variations of Shukto. But almost all the cases we see bitterness agents like Karela/uchche or Nim or other vegetables that taste bitter. Another specialty of this dish is its spices...Randhuni -Methi, and Sorshe give it a typical Shukto flavor.

Though we use bitter vegetables in this dish does not taste too much bitter..as we use milk or coconut paste in it..so the ultimate taste of it is a mixed one..bitter-sweet- salty and a bit spicy along with a combination of at least 5 different types of vegetables perfectly complimenting each other.

Process

To begin making the Shukto Recipe, first prepare all the vegetables and the ingredients and keep aside. Place all the vegetables in the pressure cooker, sprinkle a little salt and 1/4 cup of water and cook for 3 to 4 whistles and turn off the heat. Release the pressure immediately by placing the cooker under running cold water. Open the lid and keep aside. Make a paste of 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds and 2 teaspoons of poppy seeds along with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. Heat mustard oil in a pan, add ginger, bay leaf, green chilies, red chilies and stir fry for a few seconds. Next add the turmeric powder, the poppy seed and mustard seed paste, the cooked vegetables, milk, salt, and sugar. Stir well, add 1/4 cup

of water and give the Shukto mixture a brisk boil. The Shukto will thicken as it is boiling and you can adjust the consistency by adding water. Add salt accordingly and serve hot.

'Dudh Shukto' is a very popular dish prepared in most Bengali homes, with milk added to the bitter dish to help alleviate the taste and make it more palatable.

“Shuktos are also made from only green leafy vegetables like red amaranth, fresh shoots of jute etc. There are many Shuktos made with fish as well, ranging from big to small. These have haldi as opposed to the vegetarian ones and sometimes without bitter greens or vegetables.” This dish will surely pushyou toward the finger licking Bengali cuisine.

I remember as a child I used to always ask for extra bori or vadi in my helping of shukto, even at ceremony houses amidst a myriad of veggies in the bowl . Though most kids generally tend to stack aside and avoid eating the slices of uchchhey or bitter gourd in Shukto but I felt these bitter karelaslices actually constitute the heart of this amazing mixed vegetable dish . You simply cannot cook Shukto without the bitter gourd as one of the veggies . The other unique vegetables which add their signature taste to Shukto are plantain or unripe green banana, drumsticks or dantaand sweet potato .

I strongly recommend this particular recipe of Shukto as this is a cent per cent authentic recipe which I had been lucky to learnt from a Bangali Thhakur. The important thing to remember is to understand what kind of taste we are aiming for the gravy to have . The gravy needs to be slightly creamy, slightly sweet but mostly savory and absolutely not hot (jhal)s. Also it is very essential to retain the shape of the vegetable chunks avoid overcooking. Good luck in the kitchen.

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Written By

Mr Abinash Pradhan

Mr Chirag Gaba

Ms Guneet Kaur

Ms Megha Thakur

Ms Tanya Sharma

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