Bengali-style mixed vegetables

By: Anjum Anand
From: I Love Curry
Serves: 4
Photographer: Jonathan Gregson

Inspired by a Bengali staple called shukto, this is a mild dish with a mix of sweet, starchy vegetables as well as an essential bitter one, which was originally added to whet the appetite for future courses. I have used autumnal vegetables here, but this is not a heavy dish and is often eaten in the summer in Bengal. You can substitute any other vegetables, as long as you include some sweet and some bitter. I’ve used western vegetables here instead of the traditional Indian green bananas and bitter gourd, but the dish still works beautifully. Serve with rice.

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
3 tablespoons	white poppy seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons	yellow mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon	brown mustard seeds
5 tablespoons	vegetable oil
1 teaspoon	panch phoran
225g	parsnips, peeled, cored and cut into 1.5cm half moons
225g	sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1.5cm half moons
15g	fresh root ginger, peeled weight, grated into a paste
3	long, thin aubergines, or round aubergines (around 150g), halved lengthways and cut into 2–3 pieces
15-20	green beans, topped, tailed and halved
	salt, to taste
50g	radicchio, endive or other bitter vegetable, diced
1/2-3/4 teaspoon	ground cumin
2 handfuls	cooked chickpeas
150ml	full-fat milk
1/2 teaspoon	sugar, or to taste

Method

Using a spice grinder, grind the poppy and both types of mustard seeds to a fine powder. Set aside.
Heat the oil, add the panch phoran and, once it splutters, tip in the parsnips and sweet potatoes and sauté over a moderate flame for five to six minutes, or until softening. Add the ginger paste, aubergines, beans and salt and sauté for another three minutes. Add the bitter leaves, ground seeds, cumin and 200ml water. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat and cook for three or four minutes, until all the ingredients are tender.
Uncover, add the chickpeas, then reduce most of liquid in the pan over high heat, stirring so nothing catches on the base. Add the milk and sugar, bring to a boil, taste, adjust the seasoning and serve.

Tags:: curry; India; Indian; Asian; I; Love; Curry; Anjum; Anand

Bengali-style mixed vegetables

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