Jhinge shukto

Maumita Paul’s Jhinge Shukto is a light ridge-gourd and bitter-gourd curry with own-made yellow-pea fritters. She attributes this preparation to her grandmother’s Sylhet repertoire.

Supplied bitter-gourd roundels are salted, rinsed and patted dry. Part of the selected celery-seed option is coarsely ground in a mortar and pestle; the soaked yellow-pea dal is drained from its water, coarsely ground with fresh water and mixed with salt.

Small dumplings of that dal paste are shallow-fried in separate oil until golden and set on a kitchen absorbent towel. In another pan, part of the mustard oil sautés the bitter gourd until light brown, and those pieces are set on a separate absorbent towel.

The remaining mustard oil in the same vegetable pan is tempered with black mustard and the remaining whole aromatic seeds. Ridge gourd is sautéed with salt until its released water has nearly dried, then part of the ginger paste and poppy-seed paste cook into it.

Sugar, the ground aromatic seeds, the same fried bitter gourd and fritters return with warm water for continued cooking. The remaining ginger paste is stirred in, seasoning adjusted and ghee added to finish the curry.