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Friday, June 6, 2008

Pui Shaak'er Chorchori





Pui Shaak'er chorchori

Chorchori is basically a Bengali semi dry curry which is a medley of vegetables,that is cooked at low with a little bit of spices.
Pujor samay (during festival of Durga Poja ), Puin Shaak'er chorchori is being served as part of bhog/prasad on ashtami.This chorchori is accompanied with Khichuri , Payesh and chatni , For Payesh and Chutney .

The main thing which is taken into consideration is that the entire meal is Niramish ( Vegetarian), Khichuri is made with Ada bata (ginger paste),kancha lonka(green chilly ) and may be garam masala. Puin shaak'er chorchori also is Niramish (vegetarian).This medley of vegetables is cooked into mushy texture in a large Pot , and the taste is very divine .I have tried making many times bhog'er khichuri and Puin Shaak'er chorchori ,but that ambience, that feeling and that emotion remains unavailable to me.I guess you enjoy these foods in Pujor Mathe( Venue of Durga Poja) with your family ,friends sitting in a line on a ground and waiting for the bhog'er khichuri and puin shaak'er chorchori being served by Parar Kaku ,Jethu and Dada (neighborhood uncles and brothers).

Every culture survives on these small but things of great importance.....

Things you need for this Chorchori
Puin Shaak – ½ kg or two big bunch
Kumro (Pumpkin) -15 cube pieces
2 long Jhinge/ridge gourd cut into long pieces of 1 1/2 inch
Potato 2 cut into cubes
1/2  tsp of turmeric powder
1 tsp of coriander powder
1 tsp of sugar
½ tsp of red pepper powder
1 tsp of salt
3 tbs of mustard oil
1 Ilish macher matha fried prior to making the chorchori (if preparing vegetarianway skip this ingredient)
1 tsp of panch Phoron for tempering
Method

Cut and clean the shak first, cut the leaves and then chop them , also cut the danta ( tender stalk ) approx 1 inch long pieces and slit them in between .Throughly clean them in running water . Cut all the vegetables as said above .


Now heat up a kadai , add mustard oil, temper it with Panch phoron ,add potato, kumro(pumpkin) and fry them at med , add all the masala powders ,salt,sugar ,fry them at low for 5mints.TIP--At this point if you want to make the chorchori aamish (non-veg), add fried ilish macher matha (hilsa fish head) and with the help of spatula ,break it into pieces in the the wok itself.This is my MIL’s way of preparing Puin shaak'er chorchori in home .


Now add chopped puin shaak or green leaves and fry a little ,add water( just a little bit is sufficient) ,cover and cook for 10 mints at low, slow the process of making it ,it will add up to the flavour .Take out after it and have it with garam bhaat( warm cooked rice) .

Note- My Mother add shorshe bata ( mustard seeds paste) as well at the end and then take it off from the flame.

Updated to include this pic of Puin Shaak.

Updated again
I have been asked many times more about the Pui Shaak.
So here is the detail
Pui Shaak is
Basella alba belonging to spinach family, is also known as climbing spinach .
It is also known as Malabar,East Indian ,Chinese and Vietnamese spinach ,broad bologi etc..
In English it is known as Malabar climbing spinach or nightshade.
Bengali it is known as Pui Shaak ,In KonKani it’s Valchi Bhaji,Kannada name is basale soppu ,in telegu it’s bachhali.
In Vietnam it is made into soup with crab meat and is avery popular dish in north-Vietnam.
In fact climbing spinach is an integral part of Chinese cuisine also and is stir/fried as well.
Now you may find it in any Asian, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean grocery stores .
More details Here .

Happy Cooking Friends

21 comments:

  1. That Oriya book I cooked from said Pui saag, didn't know what it was, now I know! Dish looks mouthwatering. Payesh and chutni sounds wonderful too!:)

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  2. Hi,
    Asha,
    Oriya and Bengali cuisine resembles very much , except for few changes..
    Pui saag is a good source of healthy nutrition..Trust me If you add all the veggies and may be shrimp or any other small fish known to you , it taste even better...Ithink I am gonna add the Pui saag pic soon , whenevr we will get some from Market, That way everybody will get to see this Leafy vegetable ...LoL...
    HUg and smiles
    Jaya

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  3. I have no idea what that veggie is, but i woudn't mind tryng they curry you have made to know what it is.

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  4. that's a lovely curry, Jaya! Yummy.

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  5. jaa aanondo hochhe naa tomar site e ei bhao bhalo recipes peye, je bhasha pachhii naa express koraar.
    aami shob gulo recipe ekta ekta kore try korbo and shikhbo! thanks so much...

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  6. Happy, Uma
    Thanks for coming here.
    Iguess instead of Pui Shag, you can try it with spinach also ..It will comw out nice ..

    Joyeeta,
    tahole aami darun khoshi hobo ...aami jota perechi shikchi aar chesta korche je Bangla Ranna te lokeder interest hog ..
    Jaano to aami aar aamar Sashuri do jone mile torkari kata thekhe niye ,ranna kora shob nije kori, aar aami to ekhono mone hoye onek kicho shikhi ni aaro baki ache shikhte..Life itself is a learning process ..you learn each day a new thing ..
    khob bhalo laglo tumi ele ..
    hugs and smiles
    Jaya

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  7. hi there i accidently checked ur blog but i am sure i will be visiting it very frequently, i guess i can learn a lot from u. i toostay in bengal rather north bengal at alipurdwar, have moved recenly to bengal ao i guess you will for sure help me to orient myself to this state. l ove cooking and plan to buy a OTG before i get myself a microoven, what do u say/

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  8. Namrita,
    welcome here.
    and I am sure you will love living in this city ..and I am always eager to help you , do let me know any thing in particular you want to know ..
    Hugs and smiles
    jaya

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  9. then there is more to learn than just cooking...shashudi'r shaathe mile ranna koraa te aalada ii aanondo, taai naa? :)
    aamio nije haathei shob kori, kintu punjabi'r shaathe biye hoyechhilo bole bangla randhte shikhini kokhono. ei bochhor ta ektu special, aami shob chhede nijer rajotte phire eshechhii praye 16 bochhor por. dukhher shaathe onek aanondo o hochhe...tomar site ta feels like a virtual home! ebaar india giye maake bangla ranna rendhe khawale maa khoob khushi hobe :)
    love,
    joyeeta.

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  10. I think so one must clarify waht puin shak means...

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  11. Hi,
    anonymous
    "Puin" and "shak" are the Bengali words and Puin is the name for this green leafy vegetable which is the main ingredient for this vegetable medley recipe, I have posted the pic also and "Shak" means green Leaves .Hope it helps you .......

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  12. Came across this today .. kotodin puin shaak khaini .. :-(
    ekhane pawa jayena :-( Palong shaak diye chorchori kori ... dudher shaad ghole metayi :-(

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  13. Hi Jayshree,

    I'm not a Bengali but live in a pre-dominantly Bengali neighbourhood....Bought 'puin shaag'from the neighbourhood sabzi-walla...but can't figure out for the life of me, what it is!! Pls tell me what it's called in English/Hindi/etc.

    Thanks a lot for posting this recipe!

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  14. Hi Jaya...thanks a ton for the post on Puishak...I bought it for the first time in my life ever since I have been out of my parents' place in Calcutta. Being married to a Punjabi I have always stuck to Methi, Palak and Sarson saags and tried out Puinshak for the first time. Your website really helps relive the old Bengali favorites which are lost in the medley of predominantly North or south indian cuisines served at multicuisine restaurants in India and abroad. Good Job!! Thanks :) Sharmistha

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  15. thanks! really wanted to know the english name..i just googled and landed up on ur blog... many tks again :) grt work.. kp writing!

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  16. Nina,
    I have updated the post with picture of puin shak ..hope it helps..

    Sharmi,
    Thanks for your kind words here..

    Reeta,
    thanks for stoping by..

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  17. The pui sag in English called Malabar spinach which is available in international grocery stores, I grow in my backyard during the summer in chicago. I cooked today with mix of shrimp and bass/whitefish head little bit of lau(Indian squash) + pui + begoon(eggplant) off course panchforon as a tarka. Really enjoyed the dish. Pui sag has an authentic or unique flavor which makes the tarkari tasty. Even through I am bengali I barely use aloo(potato) in any sabji like typical Bengali Ranna, because in my family 1/2 got diabetes.

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  18. Dev, that sounds so exciting growing your own vegetables in kitchen garden and then straight to your kitchen for the food..
    Yeah I know diabetes and then potato is not good as potato is high source of carbohydrates..anyways your way of adding white fish head is very interesting as I know Hilsa is added for a "chenchra" made with Hilsa fish head+pui but then living in abroad makes us less fortunate in terms of the cuisine we like to eat ..but thanks for your valuable inputs here..You know thats why it keeps me going here..I really like when readers like you share their valuable inputs which adds to the recipe being posted here..keep coming here..regards

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  19. i donot think this is the way pui data chochori is made. you never need to add water to any chochori. it spoils the taste.

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    Replies
    1. Anon,
      Please share your version..and I have said just a little bit..it's like splashing water..we call in Bengali "jol chora deva"..and that doesn't mean adding a cup of water..Hope it clears any doubt..thanks for coming by..

      Delete
  20. Hi! Great post ... Thanks for sharing.. Suggest adding a pinterest link to all your posts which will mk it easier for us to save and for your posts to get higher footfalls as people visit your link via pinterest..

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