🇮🇳 Indian Cuisine

Shukto

Bengali Bitter Vegetable Medley

Prep Time 40 minutes
Servings 4
Difficulty medium
Calories 140 kcal

A unique Bengali dish featuring a mix of bitter and other vegetables in a milk-based gravy with panch phoron (five-spice blend). Traditionally served as the first course of a Bengali meal.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1 Cut all vegetables into uniform pieces. Lightly fry bitter gourd separately.
  2. 2 Heat ghee, add panch phoron (fenugreek, nigella, cumin, mustard, fennel seeds).
  3. 3 Add vegetables and turmeric, sauté briefly. Add water and cook until tender.
  4. 4 Add mustard paste, ginger paste, and milk. Simmer for 5 minutes.
  5. 5 Add a pinch of sugar to balance bitterness. Serve as the first course with rice.

Did You Know?

In Ayurvedic tradition, shukto is served first in a Bengali meal because bitter foods are believed to stimulate digestion and appetite.