Lau Shak-er Chocchori
A comforting Bengali medley of fresh bottle gourd greens and mixed vegetables simmered with crispy lentil dumplings.
👩🍳 Process
Add the soaked red lentils, 2 green chilies, salt, and turmeric powder to a blending jar and grind into a dry paste. ▶ 1:54
Heat mustard oil in a pan. Fry small portions of the lentil paste as dumplings (bora) on medium-low heat until golden brown on both sides. Remove and set aside. ▶ 2:19 medium-low
In a deep pan, heat mustard oil and fry the sliced potatoes until they begin to change color. Remove from the oil. ▶ 3:38
Fry the pointed gourd slices in the same oil for about 1 minute until lightly browned. Remove. ▶ 4:02
Fry the eggplant slices in the same oil until cooked and lightly browned. Remove. ▶ 4:58
Add a teaspoon of fresh mustard oil to the pan. Temper with panch phoron and dry red chili. ▶ 5:20
Add the cubed pumpkin and bottle gourd stems (data). Sauté briefly. ▶ 5:32
Add the fried potatoes and pointed gourd to the pan. Mix well with the other vegetables. ▶ 5:43
Add salt, cumin powder, and turmeric powder. Toss to coat all the vegetables evenly with the spices. ▶ 6:43
Add the bottle gourd leaves on top. Stir gently until the leaves wilt and mix in. ▶ 7:07
Add the slit green chilies and stir. ▶ 8:11
Pour in 1 large cup of water, cover with a lid, and let it simmer until the vegetables are tender. ▶ 8:20 7 min
Uncover and add the fried eggplant and the lentil dumplings (halved). Stir gently, cover, and cook to let the dumplings absorb the gravy. ▶ 8:49 2 min
Remove the lid, sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves, mix well, and serve hot. ▶ 10:03
