The humble Bangali bhorta, a mash-like dish eaten widely in Bengali cuisine on both sides of the border, is enjoying its moment in the spotlight. The bhorta, makha, bata, bhaate is a staple eaten in all Bengali households in various forms. What began as a preparation made with seasonal ingredients, the origins of this dish are simple — use all parts of the produce (bhortas are made with vegetable peels as well) and a few simple ingredients to make a meal that’s simple, affordable and can feed the family well. Now, the Bengali staple has made its way from home kitchens to restaurants and is championing the zero-waste way of cooking.
If you’d like to try making these at home, here are three simple recipes from home chefs and food bloggers to get you started…
Masoor Dal Bhorta
Courtesy Debjani Chatterjee Alam
Recipe from Debjani Chatterjee Alam, food blogger, Debjanir Rannaghor
Ingredients
- Red lentil (masoor dal): 100 gm
- Onion: 1 ½ medium sized, chopped
- Garlic: 10 cloves
- Dry red chillies: 1 1/2
- Green chillies: 1
- Turmeric powder: ½ tsp
- Mustard oil: 3 tbsp
- Salt to taste
Method
- Wash the dal with water 2-3 times and soak for 15 minutes. In a heavy-bottom pan, add the dal and add water. The water level should be 1/2 inch above the dal.
- Boil on a medium flame and remove impurities with a spoon. After 5 minutes, add salt and turmeric powder. Mix well and cook and keep stirring in between.
- It should take about 7 minutes for the dal to cook and soak up all the moisture. Once cooked and dry, turn off the flame
- Heat 1 tbsp mustard oil in a pan, fry the dry red chillies and take them out and once cooled, take off the stem
- Add 10 cloves of garlic to the oil and fry on medium heat for about 3 minutes. Transfer the garlic to the bowl with the fried chilli
- Add 1 tbsp mustard oil to the pan and fry most of the chopped onions for about 4 minutes until translucent and soft, You can also use brown, crispy fried onions or onion beresta for this recipe
- Roast a green chilli on an open flame and add to the bowl of fried chilli and garlic. This step is optional but adds flavour to the bhorta
- Once everything is cooked, put everything in a bowl, add the rest of the chopped onions and add 1 tbsp mustard oil. Mix it well using your hands so the spices are incorporated with the dal
- Serve as is, or roll into small balls and serve
Potol Chingrir Bhorta
Recipe from Samran Huda, home chef, Dastarkhaan
Ingredients
- Pointed gourd (potol): Make sure the 5 to 6
- Shrimp: 100 gm
- Onion: 1 big cut in juliennes
- Dry red chillies: as per taste
- Chopped coriander leaves, a handful
- Salt, to taste
Method
- Chop off the ends of the fresh pointed gourd, put them in a pan and drizzle some mustard oil. Turn on the heat to low/medium and over and cook.
- Keep flipping the gourds and also pressing down so it releases water, which can then dry up in the pan. Cook the gourds until they are soft enough to be mashed, then take off the flame.
- Saute the deveined shrimp until cooked.
- For those who don’t like the taste of raw onion, you can saute the onion lightly.
- Dry roast some red chillies as per your spice tolerance.
- In a big bowl, add the onion and red chillies, add some salt and mix well.
- Add the cooked gourd and shrimp and mix and mash everything well with your hands
- Serve with hot rice
Kaanchkolar Bhorta
Ingredients
- Green banana (kaanchkola): 2
- Ginger juice: ½ teaspoon
- Green chillies as per taste
- Onion: 1( medium)
- Mustard oil: 1 teaspoon
- Salt as per taste
Method
- Roast the bananas in a pan. Keep the pan covered while cooking on a xxx flame. Roast the banana in a pan, while keeping covered. Flip at intervals until the bananas are cooked and soft enough to mash
- Once cooled, add the cooked banana, sliced or chopped onions, green chillies, salt and mustard oil to a bowl along with a few drops of ginger juice
- Mix and mash well with your hands until everything is well-combined
- Serve with hot rice
