Ucche Chorchori – Ucche Aloo Begun Chorchori Sorshe Bata Diye
Ucche Chorchori is a Bengali niramish dish made with bitter gourd, brinjal and potatoes cooked in a mustard paste. The bitterness of Ucche is countered by the sweetness of brinjal, the blandness of potatoes and the fiery spiciness of mustard paste. You have to acquire a taste for bitter gourd – a very much under-rated vegetable that’s packed with amazing nutrients.
Chorchori is a unique and versatile vegetable dish, found primarily in Bengali cuisine. Typical vegetables used for chorchori are potatoes, brinjals, spinach, pumpkin, cauliflower, broad beans, pumpkin, karela, etc
Health Benefits of Bitter Gourd
Bitter gourd, the star ingredient of Ucche Chorchori, is known for its numerous health benefits:
Helps regulate blood sugar levels
Rich in vitamins C and A
High in dietary fiber
Contains antioxidants that fight free radicals
May help in weight loss
Supports digestive health
Any diet plan is incomplete without karela or bitter gourd.
Ucche Chorchori Recipe:
This vegetarian delight is a perfect blend of bitter, spicy, and tangy flavors that dance on your taste buds. As a staple in Bengali cuisine, Ucche Chorchori is not only delicious but also packed with nutrients.
Those who like eating bitter melon, this recipe is right up your alley. I love ucche in any form – fried, boiled or curried. This Bengali chorchori recipe is a simple and healthy side dish with rice.
Firstly, soak a tablespoon of mustard seeds in water for about 10 minutes. Also soak ½ tsp of poppy seeds in warm water for 10 minutes. Drain the mustard seeds and poppy seeds and grind them to a paste separately (or together) and keep aside.
Wash the karelas, cut the ends and slice them lengthwise. Wash and vertically slit the brinjals and keep them immersed in salt water. Also wash, peel and slice the potatoes vertically and immerse them in water.
Next heat 2 tbsp. of oil and put in the sliced potato. Lightly sauté it for 1 minute, till it gets a little colour and then remove into a bowl.
Next add the brinjal slices and sauté for a minute and remove.
Lastly add the karela slices to the pan and sauté for 1-2 minutes and then remove.
Next add 1 tbsp. of mustard oil to the pan and temper with Bengali five-spice mix or panch phodon and 1 slit green chilli. Sauté for 30 seconds.
Now add the sautéed vegetables and mix well.
Sprinkle ¼ tsp of turmeric powder and ½ tsp of salt and combine well.
Then mix in 1 tbsp of mustard paste.
Sauté the vegetables for 30 seconds so that they are well coated with the mustard sauce.
Add 2 cups of water and mix all the ingredients well.
Cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat, till the veggies are almost done.
Then stir in ½ tsp of poppy seeds paste and cook for a further 5 minutes till the curry is almost dry.
Finally, drizzle 1 tsp of mustard oil on top and remove from heat.
Serve Ucche Chorchori with white rice and plain masoor dal.
While Bengalis typically have a sweet tooth, they also have a taste for bitter food. A traditional Bengali meal will almost always start with some bitter dish. Uchche or bitter gourd is a staple on the weekly menu at home. Uchche Aloo Begun is a dry preparation of Karela, Alu and Brinjals, cooked with minimal spices.
Course Lunch, Side Dish
Cuisine Bengali
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 15 minutesminutes
Total Time 25 minutesminutes
Servings 4
Calories 317kcal
Author Shil
Ingredients
5small bitter gourds
2small brinjals
1medium potato
2tbspoil
1tbsp+1 tsp mustard oil
1tbspmustard paste
½tsppoppy seeds paste
1 ¼panch phodon
1green chillislit
½tspsalt
¼tspturmeric
2cupswater
Instructions
To make Ucche Begun Chorchori, firstly soak mustard and poppy seeds separately in water for 10 minutes and then grind to a paste. Keep aside.
Wash and slit the karelas and brinjals lengthwise. Also wash peel and slice the potato vertically.
Heat some oil in a kadai and lightly fry the potatoes, brinjals and karelas and keep aside.
Next add some mustard oil to the pan and season with paanch phodon and a slit green chilli.
Then add the sautéed ucche aloo begun and saute for 30 seconds.
Now add the ground mustard paste and mix well.
Pour two cups of water and stir all the vegetable well.
Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.
Then mix in the poppy seeds paste and simmer for a further five minutes, till the vegetables are cooked through and the dish is almost dry. Poopy seeds pastes really enhances the flavour of this uchchhey chorchori.
Drizzle some mustard oil on top of the chorchori and remove.
Serve Ucche Begun Chorchori with hot rice or roti.
Notes
To reduce the bitterness of bitter gourds, sprinkle some salt over the karela slices and leave aside for about 10 minutes, till the water comes out. Then squeeze lightly, drain the water and rinse the karelas well. Place the slices in a colander for later use.
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