Badhakopir ghonto

Debjani Chatterjee Alam’s Badhakopir Ghonto, also called Bandhakopir Torkari, cooks cabbage with potato, green peas and tomato. She recalls this Bengali cabbage side as part of her joint family’s winter Sunday meals.

Cabbage is finely sliced and rinsed under running water. Potatoes are peeled, cubed, rinsed and soaked in water; tomatoes are chopped and green chillies cut into long strips. Ginger paste, selected sugar, cumin powder, part of the turmeric and salt, chilli powder and part of the mustard oil form a spice paste.

The remaining mustard oil fries the potatoes with their separate turmeric-and-salt portion. The potatoes stay in the pan while dried red chilli, cumin seed, cinnamon, green cardamom, cloves and bay leaves temper the oil; tomato follows, then the same spice paste cooks until oil separates.

Green peas, green chillies and cabbage are mixed in and cooked under a lid. Selected cashews and raisins join during cooking, and further covered low heat uses the cabbage’s released moisture instead of extra cooking water.

Garam masala and the selected optional ghee finish the mixture. After the stated rest, Debjani’s narrative offers the cabbage side hot with rice and dal, the selected meal accompaniment.