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Vegetable Chorchori

Introduction & method

Chorchori or charchari is a staple of Bengali vegetarian cuisine. It usually consists of around 5 different vegetables sauteed and steamed. The exact selection of veggies depends on what you happen to have available, and you should try to have a range of different textures - crunchy like carrots and radishes, soft like squash, pumpkin and aubergine, and in-between like potatoes, peas and green beans.

 Vegetable Chorchori Recipe

Prep the Veggies


Peel any vegetables that need it. Chop your veggies into appropriate sized chunks - by which I mean, the chunks should be sized according to the length of time they take to cook, so something like potato probably takes the longest, and so should be cut smallest. Aubergine and squashes cook very quickly, so should be cut quite large.

Cook the Vegetables


Heat up the oil on medium-high heat. Add the panch phoran and chillies and fry for a few minutes, until the spices start to pop. Stir in the mustard, add the potatoes and other hard vegetables and stir them to get them well-coated. Add the rest of the vegetables and let them sizzle for a few minutes. Cover the pan. One of the tricks of chorchori is that your veggies will release water as they cook - you want this liquid to evaporate and the veggies to get a slight charring. If, at this stage, they are still not cooked, add a bit more water and cook until they are done. Serve with chopped coriander.


The video above is from the Keef Cooks YouTube channel. Click here to see the video recipe of Vegetable Chorchori on YouTube.

 
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Ingredients & Info



  Equal amounts of about 5 different vegetables 1 tsp asafoetida (hing)
 1 - 2 tsp panch phoron
 2 -3 tbsp mustard or vegetable oil
 1 tsp mustard powder
 as needed water
 2 -3 small red or green chillis

PLUS

Salt and sugar to taste


UNITS:
Metric
US Customary/Imperial

Serves 2 -4
Prep time: 10 minutes.
Cooking time: 15 minutes.
Total time: 25 minutes.