Chapor Ghonto - Bong Cuisine

Chapor Ghonto is a delicious and mouth watering vegetable mishmash cooked with some lentil fritters. A wide variety of vegetables like pumpkin, potatoes, ridged gourd, eggplant, pointed gourd, French beans, carrot, cauliflower can be added in this dish (based on availability). In Bengali "Chapor" means pat, the name probably came from the process of making these lentil fritters where you need to press these fritters with a spatula while shallow frying those in very low heat and using very little oil. You can use any lentil for making these fritters, I have used red lentils. To bring the signature taste of Bengali cuisine use mustard oil to cook this dish. Traditionally coconut is not added to this dish, though I have used grated coconut as I prefer the taste and texture of coconut in this dish.

Ingredients:

1. Potato (peeled and cubed) - 1 big sized
2. Pumpkin (peeled and cubed) - 1 cup
3. Brinjal (cubed) 1/2 cup
4. Cauliflower (7-8 florets)
5. Carrot (peeled and cubed) 1/2 cup
6. Beans - 1/2 cup (long chopped)
7. Ginger (grated) - 1 tsp
8. Crated coconut - 1 tsp
9. Bay leaves - 1
10. Dry red chilli - 1-2
11. Panch Phoron - 1 tsp
12. Green chillies - 2-3 (as per taste)
13. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
14. Salt to taste
15. Sugar - 1/2 tsp
16. Mustard oil - for cooking
17. Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
18. Ghee - 1 tsp
19. Red lentil -1 cup

Process:   

  

1. To start with, soak the lentils for 1-2 hours wash well, drain and make a paste adding turmeric powder, green chillies, grated ginger and salt as per your taste. Keep aside.

2. In a frying pan, add oil and when the oil is smoking hot take tablespoon full of lentil paste and shallow fry. While placing lentil paste on the pan press it with a spatula and make sure they do not have any definite shape. Shallow fry the rest of the paste and keep aside. These are the 'Chapor'.

3. Take a deep pan and add mustard oil. When the oil is hot, add the brinjal pieces and fry till brown, and keep them aside. Then in the same oil, add bay leaf, dry red chilli and panch phoron. As the spices release nice aroma, add all the vegetables and grated ginger and cook till the vegetables are done. Once the vegetables are done, add the fried brinjals. 

4. Break the Chapor and add in the pan, also add salt and sugar as per your taste. If you like the dish to be spicy, add more green chilies. Lastly add 1 tsp of ghee and garnish with grated coconut.