This is a traditional mixed vegetable curry in the Bengali style. It means a mish mash of 5 veggies. So you can choose any 5 types of vegetables to cook up this simple delicacy. I have made use of green papaya, red pumpkin, parwal (pointed gourd). raddish and eggplants in this recipe.
I have also added fried vadi (dried lentil dumplings), but for a non-veg. version, it is generally cooked either with prawns or fish head.This dish is a very common menu in any Bengali household. It is relished with rice, khichdi (Rice porridge), chapati, poori or paratha. So check out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare it.
- 1 cup each of eggplants, pumpkin, green papaya, radish & parwal (pointed gourd), cubed
- 8-10 vadi (dried lentil dumplings)
- 2 tbsp, mustard oil
- 1/2 tsp. panch phoron (equal quantity of fennel, fenugreek, cumin, mustard & nigella seeds)
- 1" cinnamon stick
- 2 green cardamoms
- 4-5 cloves
- 1-2 green chilies, broken into half
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp. ginger paste
- 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
- 1 tsp. coriander-cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp. garam masala powder
- salt to taste
- 1 tsp. ghee
- coriander leaves to garnish
Heat oil in a pan and fry the vadi till golden brown. Drain and keep aside. Temper the same oil with panch phoron, bay leaf, dry red chili, cinnamon, cardamoms and cloves.
Saute for a few seconds. Then add the ginger paste and all the dry spices mixed with a little water. Saute till oil separates.
Add all the chopped veggies and the fried vadis. Stir to mix with all the spices. Cover and cook on a low flame till the moisture evaporates.
At this point if the veggies are not soft enough, add 1/2 - 1 cup water and continue to simmer, covered till done. Add ghee and serve, garnished with coriander leaves.
Heat oil & fry vadis till golden in colour. Drain & keep aside.
Temper with green chilies, panch phoron, bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamoms
and cloves.
Add ginger-garlic paste & all dry spices mixed with some water. Saute
till oil separates.
Add chopped veggies & fried vadis. Cover & cook til done. Add
water if necessary.
When done, add ghee.
Serve, garnished with coriander leaves.
This is a traditional mixed vegetable curry. Panch Mishali means 5 veggies, so any 5 veggies can be added. I used chopped bottle gourd, red pumpkin, raw papaya, eggplants and radish. I cooked with prawns for added flavour. For a veg. version, vadis (dried lentil dumplings) can be added.
This dish is a very common recipe cooked in almost every Bengali household. Sometimes, fried fish head replaces prawns and vadi. This time, I experimented it by cooking the same in a Tagine Pot. It is mostly cooked in its own steam, so not much water is needed to add. The best thing is, it can be served in the pot itself. Relish it as a side dish with either rice or chapatis. So check out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare it.
- 1 cup prawns,
- 2 long eggplants, chopped
- 1 small raddish, chopped
- 1/2 of a small bottlegourd, chopped
- 250 gms. red pumpkin, chopped
- 1/2 of a small raw papaya, chopped
- 2-3 tbsp. mustard oil
- 1" cinnamon stick
- 2 green cardamoms
- 4 cloves
- 1 tsp. panch phoron (equal quantities of fennel, mustard, cumin, fenugreek & nigella seeds)
- 1 onion, sliced
- salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
- 1 tsp. roasted cumin powder
- 2 green chilies
- 1 tsp. ghee (clarified butter)
- 1 tsp. coriander leaves, chopped
Heat oil in a Tagine Pot and saute the prawns for a minute or till they changes colour. Drain and keep aside.
Add the cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves and panch phoron. After it stops spluttering, add the onions and saute till light brown.
Add the chopped veggies, salt, green chilies, turmeric powder and cumin powder. Give it a mix and add the fried prawns and 1/4 cup water.
Cover with the Tagine Pot lid and cook on a low flame for 15 minutes or till the veggies are soft and the gravy thick. If required sprinkle water at intervals.
Add ghee and switch off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve as a side dish with either rice or chapattis.
Heat oil in a Tagine Pot & saute prawns for a minute. Drain & keep aside.
Temper same oil with cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves & panch phoron.
Add onion & fry till light brown.
Add veggies, green chilies, salt & turmeric powder. Mix well.
Add roasted cumin powder, followed by the .......
........fried prawns.
Add 1/4 cup water. Cover & cook till done. Sprinkle water if needed.
When done, add ghee & serve, garnished with coriander leaves.
This is a traditional Bengali mish-mash of any 5 vegetables cooked with prawns. Fried fish head can also be substituted. This dish is very commonly prepared in every Bengali household with or without any fish. In the vegetarian version, the use of fried bori /vadi / dried lentil dumplings are used. There are many versions to this dish, but this is how I go about preparing it. They can be had either with rice or chapattis.
- 10-15 prawns, cleaned & deveined
- 1 cup cauliflower florettes
- 2 eggplants, cubed
- 1 potato, cubed
- 1 cup red pumpkin, cubed
- 1 cup raddish, cubed
- 3 tbsp. mustard oil
- 1 tsp. panch phoron (equal quantites of fennel, mustard, cumin, fenugreek & nigella (kalonji) seeds
- 2 dry red chilies, broken
- 2 bay leaves
- salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
- 1 tsp. coriander-cumin powder
- 1 tsp. ginger, grated
- 1 tsp. ghee (clarified butter)
- coriander leaves to garnish
Heat 1 tbsp. oil and saute the prawns till they change colour. Keep aside. Heat remaining of the oil and temper with the bay leaves, red chilies and panch phoron.
After it stops spluttering, add the grated ginger and saute for few seconds Then add the vegetables and fry for 5-6 minutes on low flame.
Add salt, turmeric powder and coriander-cumin powder and continue to fry for a minute more till all the veggies are properly blended with the masalas.
Add 1 cup water and the prawns and cook, covered on low flame till all the veggies are soft and dry. Before removing, add the ghee and serve, garnished with coriander leaves.
