Shukta

Shukta is a quintessential Bengali dish that marks out a typical Bengali meal. It is often claimed that each Bengali family has its own unique recipe for Shukta. While this may be an exaggeration (the basic structure is similar across families), there are indeed many minor differences which are quite noticeable in its taste.

Shukta is presumably best described as a medley of vegetables. It is always had in the beginning of the meal, with rice, even before the dal (Bengalis eat sequentially -- dal, vegetables, fish, chicken, meat...) and is never eaten too hot. I was also told it is never eaten at night, though never the reason!

Here I give my aunt's recipe, handed down through my father, and transcribed from his handwritten recipe by my wife into our scrapbook.

Ingredients:

A bunch of vegetables in small amounts, a handful each, of eggplant, potato, radish, bitter gourd (karela), green banana, flat beans adding up to about half a kilo. This set of vegetables can be changed, but the bitter gourd and green banana are usually considered essential. All vegetables are cut into bite sized pieces.
Oil 3 tbsp
Bay leaf 1 large
mustard seeds 2 tsp
ginger paste 2 or 3 tsp
red pepper 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:

In a kadai (wok) fry the vegetables separately in the oil, so that they are half cooked. The green banana should not be fried but peeled and cut and dropped into water along with some turmeric.
After the vegetables have been fried and taken out, in the same oil (add some more if it is too reduced) add mustard seeds and the bay leaf and wait for the seeds to sputter. Put the vegetables back as well as the green banana, the ginger paste, salt, turmeric and red pepper and fry for a short while so that the vegetables get cooked.
Usually water should not be added, but if you find the vegetables sticking to the vessel, add a teaspoonful of water at a time if needed. Make sure to add the eggplant last so that they do not get overcooked. Shut off the flame. In a small bowl add a little bit of milk, some water and some flour to form a thin paste and add it to the gravy to thicken it. Boil once and remove from the heat.

Variations: Use panch phoron instead of mustard seeds. Dissolve some mustard powder in water and add it at the end. Traditionally, shukta is made without turmeric but some families do add it, though personally I am against it since I think it changes the taste too drastically.