Shorshe Bata Diye Aloo Uchchhey Chorchori
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.
Servings: 4
Calories: 317kcal
Ingredients
- 5 small bitter gourds
- 2 small brinjals
- 1 medium potato
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp +1 tsp mustard oil
- 1 tbsp mustard paste
- ½ tsp poppy seeds paste
- 1 ¼ panch phodon
- 1 green chilli slit
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- 2 cups water
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.