Sukto Traditional Bengali Recipe of Mixed Veg

Sukto, a word with only 5 alphabets. But you can’t guess the enormous strength hidden inside this word. It’s a traditional Bengali dish which is still being cooked in any holy occasion in Bengali family specially during puja festivals and I don’t find anybody who thinks negative about this recipe.

I have tested this unique vegetarian recipe in different occasions in different places but Sukto from my mother’s kitchen makes me overwhelmed. This is the preparation with less of spices but more of different types of vegetables adding with milk, mustard paste and radhuni (celery) and poppy seed paste and many more.... but without any touch of chili.

SUKTO

Servings:4 to 5

Ingredients:

Raw Banana - 2

Green Papaya - 1 small

Drumstick (sojne) - 4 pcs

Brinjal - 100 gms

Ridge gourd (jhinga) - 100 gms

Board Beans (sheem) - 6/7 pcs

Potato - 1 medium

Bitter Gourd (ucche/karela) - 4/5 pcs, medium

String Beans (borboti) - 8/9 pcs

Bori (made of dal) - 8 pcs

Ginger paste - 2 tbsp

Poppy seed paste (posto) - 4/5 tbsp

Black Mustard seed paste - 1 tbsp

Whole Black mustard seed - 1 tbsp

Celery (radhuni) - 1/2 tbsp

Turmaric powder - 1/2 tbsp

Bay Leaves - 2

Milk - 1/2 cup

Salt - as per taste

Sugar - as per taste

Oil - 3 tbsp

Water - 4 cups

Preparation:

Heat oil (2 tbsp) in a pan. Fry bori till they becomes slight brownish in colour. Don't overcook them. keep them aside.

In the same oil, add all vegetables, turmeric powder and salt. cook for 5/6 minutes, covering the lid of the pan in low flame. 

After 5/6 minutes, add water. boil them again by covering the lid in low flame. 

A fter it is done, keep the boil vegetables in a separate bowl and also keep the boiled water in another bowl.

In the same pan, add remaing oil, add bay leaves, black mustard seeds. Cook until the mustard seedsbegin to splatter, then add celery (radhuni). Fry for few seconds. Add ginger paste and keep stiring for another few seconds.

Add all boil vegetables, mix them well. Then add fried bori. Mix them slowly so that bori does'nt break.

After mixing is over add poppy seed and mustard seed paste, mix well again. Then add milk and sugar. Mix them and add the boiled veggie water into it. Cover the lid. Cook for 3/4 minutes. Switch off the oven. Don't open the lid for anothet 5 minutes.

My Sukto preparation is ready. Serve with hot steamed rice.