In preparing vegetable curries it is not always possible-to mention the exact weights or volumes of the ingredients required—vegetables, spices, salt, water, etc.—a little experience is needed in judging the requisite-quantities.

Sukta

Required

Varieties of vegetables, as jhinga, potato, patol, brinjal, radish, beans, figs, green bananas, bori (dried cakes of pasted pulse), the kernel of a ripe cocoa-nut scratched out, sajina khara, kachu, etc. Use several of them with something bitter like tender jute leaves and neem leaves, uch-chhe, karala, palta, etc. Pieces of peeled green bananas are to be kept in water for sometime otherwise the curry will be very black.

Method

Brown the boris in oil first and keep them aside. Fry the bitter vegetables in sufficient oil and add the other pieces of peeled vegetables. When everything is properly browned by constant stirring, add water with very little powdered turmeric and pasted ginger, and sufficient quantities of salt, powdered mustard, pepper and cumin. Add the browned boris when the mass is boiled. Season it with some ghee heated with a few mustard seeds. A little milk or sugar may be added now if desired. Take down with a quantity of soup.

A little thin solution of flour may be added if the soup is too thin. Serve this curry first amongst others. As a general rule bitter curries are to be served first.

Ol-Curry

Peel the skin thickly off the ol, Cut the ol and -potatoes in big pieces. Boil the pieces of ol in water with a few drops of lemon-juice and drain off the water. Then brown the ol and take down. Similarly brown the potatoes in oil and then add water with powdered turmeric, coriander, pepper, cumin, red chillies and salt. When it boils add browned ol. Season the curry when it is fully boiled with oil or ghee heated with a few panch-foron, cassia leaves and red chillies. Add ghee and powdered garam-masalla before taking down. The soup must be thick and scanty.

Mukhikachu

First boil the kachu and then peel it off. Peel some potatoes and cut into small pieces. Brown the vegetables in ghee and add ground turmeric, red chillies, coriander, pepper, cumin, minced onions, ginger-juice, salt and water. Season the curry with ghee boiled with a few cassia leaves, red chillies and minced onions. Add powdered garam-masalla when the soup thickens, and take down. Kachu may be peeled and cut in big pieces without boiling first and browned with the pieces of potatoes.

Ful-Kapi Chach Chari

Chach-chari is a fried preparation of vegetables without soup. Bengalees favour it much. It is served with dal and its preparation is quite simple.

Required

Cauliflower 1 seer, potato 1 powa, green peas 1/2 powa, bori 1/2 powa, oil 1 powa, ground turmeric i tola, red chillies 1/2 tola, pepper 1/2 tola, cumin 1/2 tola, coriander 1 tola, cinnamon 1 tola, salt 2 tolas, and a few cloves, cardamoms, cassia leaves and panch-foron, water about 1/2 seer.

Method

Brown the bori in oil and keep them: aside. Brown all the vegetables, peeled and cut in pieces, and add water with all the powdered spices except the panch-foron, cassia leaves and a few red chillies. Add bori and salt when it boils. Season the curry with the rest of the oil heated with the remaining spices. Takedown when the water dries up.