Pui metuli chingri diye

Debjani Chatterjee Alam’s Chingri Pui Metuli Chorchori is a Bengali mixed-vegetable dish with shrimp and the fruits or seeds of Malabar spinach. Her selected combination uses potato, eggplant, carrot, cauliflower and onion, with mustard oil and panch phoron.

The metuli is washed and its attached stem roughly chopped into long strips. Potatoes, onion and carrot are peeled, then cut into small cubes along with eggplant; the cleaned, deveined shrimp is marinated with salt and turmeric.

Mustard oil is heated and the shrimp is shallow-fried and strained out. Dried red chilli and panch phoron temper the same remaining oil, then potato and Pui Metuli fry over low heat.

When the potatoes are partly soft, the remaining vegetables, turmeric, red chilli powder, salt and sugar are mixed in. The pan is covered and the vegetables cook gently until well cooked while still keeping their shape.

Panch phoron powder is mixed through at the finish. Debjani serves the Chorchori hot with steamed rice and dal, and describes this shrimp-and-metuli combination as one she came to cook after eating it at her in-laws’ home.