Bengali cooking, like many traditional Indian cuisines, is known to champion sustainability with root-to-stem cooking, utilising every part of the vegetable. With the rising mercury, the bounty of winter dwindles, and prices begin crawling up. Summer is a time to plan meals with a pocket-friendly and easy-to-get pantry, and dishes that are easy to make and tasty, as no one wants to spend long hours in the kitchen in the sweltering heat!
Check out these traditional vegetarian Bengali recipes with kanchkola, kumro, and phoolkopi that capitalise on time, taste and sustainability.
Green Banana (‘kanchkola’)
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Green banana or kanchkola is a summer vegetable that most Bengali households cannot do without. A versatile veggie, it can also be cooked with meat or fish to make koftas, or used in vegetarian curries or jhol and as bata or bhorta (paste).
Kanchkolar Jhol
Ingredients
- Green bananas: 2 large
- Potatoes: 2 large
- Pointer Gourd: 4-5 large
- Pumpkin: 200gm
- Green chillies: 2-3
- Whole cumin seeds: 1 teaspoon
- Dry red chilli: 1
- Bay leaf: 1 large
- Mustard oil: 7-8 tablespoons
- Turmeric powder: 2 teaspoons
- Cumin powder: 1 tablespoon
- Coriander Powder: 1 tablespoon
- Salt: To taste
- Sugar: To taste
Recipe
- Peel off the banana skin and set aside for a separate recipe. Cut all the vegetables into medium size dices
- Add mustard oil in a deep wok and heat well. Fry all the vegetables except green chillies one by one until they are golden and keep aside
- Add some more oil to the wok and heat. Add whole cumin seeds, bay leaf and dry red chilli. Temper well
- Add the vegetables like potatoes and raw banana to the wok first, splash some water and cook until they are half done. Now add the remaining vegetables along with green chillies, turmeric powder, cumin and coriander powder and cook. Add salt and sugar and saute for 2-3 minutes
- Add enough water to make a light gravy. Cover and cook until all vegetables are done. Check seasoning, and the mixed vegetable curry is ready
Kanchkolar Khosha Bata
Ingredients
- Green banana skin: 1 large cup
- Green chillies: 3-4
- Lemon juice: 4-5 tablespoons
- Nigella seeds or kalo jeere: 1 teaspoon
- Dry red chilli: 2
- Mustard oil: 4 tablespoons
- Salt: To taste
Recipe
- Make a fine paste of the banana skin and green chillies
- Add mustard oil in a nonstick pan and heat well. Temper the nigella seeds and dry red chilli
- Add the banana peel paste, along with salt and lemon juice
- Cook on low flame for 12-15 minutes till it comes together and is cooked through
Pumpkin (‘kumro’)
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Summer is the time for gourds and squashes and the pumpkin or kumro is one of the hero products of the season. There is no part of the pumpkin that goes to waste in a Bengali household — from sabzi and crispy fried kumroni (batter-fried pumpkin slices) to pumpkin flower fritters and kumro shaak (the greens).
Kumro Phooler Bora
Ingredients
- Pumpkin flowers or kumro phool: 8-10
- Bengal gram flour or besan: 1 small cup
- Rice flour: 3-4 tablespoons
- Nigella seeds or kalo jeere: 1 teaspoon
- Salt: To taste
- Oil: To deep fry
Recipe
- Remove the stamen and filaments from the flowers and wash them. Strain any excess water
- Make a thick batter using water with the Bengal gram and rice flours, and nigella seeds
- Heat oil in a deep wok. Dip the pumpkin flowers in the batter to evenly coat them and fry on a low flame until golden brown and crispy on the outside. Serve hot
Kumro Shaaker Torkari
Ingredients
- Pumpkin greens or kumro shaak: 200gm
- Medium sized diced pumpkin: 1 medium cup
- Medium sized diced potatoes: 1 large cup
- Green chillies: 3-4
- Nigella seeds or kalo jeere: 1 teaspoon
- Mustard oil: 3-4 tablespoons
- Salt: To taste
- Sugar: To taste
Recipe
- Roughly chop the pumpkin greens
- In a deep wok, add some mustard oil and nigella seeds. Temper well. Add the cubed potatoes and cook until they are ¼ ready
- Add the pumpkin cubes and pumpkin greens, along with slit green chillies, salt and sugar
- Add some water, cover and cook for 15 minutes or until all the vegetables are cooked well
Apart from the pumpkin recipes shared above, find how to make Kumror Beejer Bora (Pumpkin Seed Fritters) here and Kumror Torkari (Pumpkin Curry) here.
Cauliflower (‘phoolkopi’)
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Cauliflower or phoolkopi is traditionally a winter vegetable, but is now available year round. While the florets of cauliflower are used in a variety of curries and stir fry recipes, the stem and leaves can also be made into tasty savoury dishes.
Cauliflower Stem Gravy
Ingredients
- Cauliflower stems: 10-15 pieces
- Garlic: 2-3 pods
- Green chillies: 2-3
- Mustard paste: 3 tablespoons
- Mustard oil: 4 tablespoons
- Lemon juice: 2 tablespoons
- Salt: To taste
- Sugar: To taste
Recipe
- Add mustard oil in a deep wok and heat well. Crush the garlic pods and add them to the oil. Stir fry until golden brown
- Add the slit green chillies and mustard paste, along with a pinch of salt and some lemon juice
- Cook for 2-3 minutes on low flame and add the cauliflower stems. Cook on low heat for 4-5 minutes
- Add a few splashes of warm water and cover. Cook for approximately 10-12 minutes or until the cauliflower stems are cooked. Don’t mash the stems
- Check and adjust seasoning, and serve hot
Stir-Fried Cauliflower
Ingredients
- Cauliflower florets cut into small pieces- 1 large cup
- Potatoes cut into small cubes: 1 large cup
- Nigella seeds or kalo jeere: 1 teaspoon
- Green chillies: 3-4
- Mustard oil: 3-4 tablespoons
- Salt: To taste
- Sugar: To taste
Recipe
- Add mustard oil in a deep wok and heat well. Add the nigella seeds and green chillies and temper well
- Add the potatoes and fry on low flame for 3-4 minutes. Splash some water, cover and cook until the potatoes are almost done
- Add the cauliflowers, salt and sugar and fry for 5-6 minutes on medium flame, until the cauliflower and potatoes are cooked.
Cauliflower Leaf Bharta
Ingredients
- Cauliflower leaf: 1 large cup
- Garlic pods: 3-4
- Green chillies: 3-4
- Lemon juice: 4-5 tablespoons
- Nigella seeds or kalo jeere: 1 teaspoon
- Dry red chilli: 2
- Mustard oil: 4 tablespoons
- Salt: To taste
Recipe
- Make a fine paste of the cauliflower leaves and green chillies
- Add mustard oil in a nonstick pan and heat well. Crush the garlic pods and add, along with the nigella seeds and the dry red chilli. Temper well
- Add the cauliflower leaf paste, along with salt and lemon juice
- Cook on low heat for 10-12 minutes until it comes together and is cooked through
- Serve hot with rice