Monday 7 September 2009

Shorshe Baata diye Shim / Hyacinth Beans cooked in Mustard Paste



{
Shorshe - Mustard
Baata - ground paste of anything ( mustard here )
Shim - Hyacinth beans

}

Right now I have a typing block.

What? Well ... ok ... I did so want to write 'a writer's block'. But one round around blogosphere overflowing with perfect writings complete with humour, tragedy and recipe to the boot ... and I shrink to a size smaller than the shrunk kids in HISTK.

Well .... this is a food blog. I am doling out recipes. So what if I can't give food for the soul? Food for the tummy is enough ... na? ;-) So spake the cook in me.

And so revelling in this thought, here comes a recipe right away.

I knew my Ilish series were getting on everybody's ... including mine ... nerves. So when dear Rush requested some Bong veggie dish with such a 'puhlllleeeaseeee' , I could not ignore her. :-)
So here is one.

The vegetable Shim / Hyacinth bean, which has always been on my much hated list is now tolerated moderately. I like it in a mixed veggie dish ... where it gets squished to oblivion and I get no trace of it ... or sometimes cooked in mustard paste ... with potatoes of course. ( I pair one piece of bean with one piece of potato. ;-) )

Jokes apart, this vegetable tastes very good when it is cooked fresh. The skin should be shiny green and the peas inside should not have grown too much.

If you are not too familiar with the strong taste of mustard , you can add a little posto / poppy seeds and coconut to it when making the paste. Gives a wonderful taste as well as flavour.
I use white mustard seeds along with the black ones when making the paste ... ratio 2:1 ... makes it less pungent.



Need : Fresh hyacinth beans ( remove the string and cut into 2 or 3 pieces),
mustard paste, sliced onions, sliced potatoes,
1 or 2 fresh green chillies, turmeric powder,
salt and sugar to taste, a little cooking oil.

How to : Heat a little oil in a kadhai / wok.
Add the onions and green chillies and fry for a while.

Then add the potatoes and the beans. Fry a while and add the turmeric powder ( just a pinch), mustard paste, salt and sugar.

Add some water and cover.

Cook till the vegetables are tender.

Remove cover and cook till all water dries up.



Serve hot with plain rice.




35 comments:

  1. Sharmila,
    lovely dish, and writer's block hole ki holo( ami jani ami o oto sajiye likhte parinaa , sodho ranna hi pari).. aar ami to eyikhane ashi eto bhalo-2 ranna dekhte , virtual world boley onek dukho hoye, real e hole koto bhalo hoto bolo to :)..draft E eyi recipe ta pore ache tiffin recipe series te ..aar post korbo na babhchi...
    hugs and smiles

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  2. It looks nice & new combo to me.Will surely try ..

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  3. You add onions to this also? I used to make this without onions. Will try with onions this time.
    Never knew shim is called hyacinth beans. See, you also add knowledge to us deprived souls. And this recipe also works wonders with shojne daata kumro and aloo. Now please let me know what shojne daata is called in english.

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    1. Shojne data is called drum stick.. hope it helps..

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  4. This is something new to me, i have heard about mustard paste usage in bengali cuisine but never really tried, i love this veggie so may be i'll give it a try this weekend!

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  5. Post korbena keno Jaya? Tomar blog eo toh recipe ta thaka chai. :-) Ar amar agdum bagdum lekha tomar moton bhalo manusherai bhalo bole. :-)

    Do try Chitra. :-)

    I find the onions add some sweetness to the pungent mustard Aparna. Drumsticks jano na bolle ami believe korbo bhebecho? :-)
    I have posted the same recipe with shojne daata too.

    Lemme know how you like it Parita. :-)

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  6. hey, you should never feel under pressure about what you write. It's your blog after all. Remember the editor in Mr India :)

    I still have some ilish left and will make the posto ilish again tonight

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  7. Hey, a non-fish dish - yaaay!!! :)

    Looks super delish, Sharmila!

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  8. I love mustard in all veggies.... simba - hmmmm I am like you, eat it only if I have to...

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  9. Looks delicious and interesting, nice one.

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  10. Shim er bati chachchari...!! dur dur ekhane shim o pai na bhalo:-) gorom gorom bhaat diye besh..

    next year dekhi barite shim gaach lagano jaye kina

    the ilish series did not get on me.. besh enjoye korchilam, khete na pele ki hobe...

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  11. the gravy base is absolutely new to me! loved the additions, must try :)

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  12. :-) Kalyan. I'll make some posto ilish tomorrow.

    Thanks Priyanka, Vani, Somoo, A2Z! :-)

    Soma bati charchari naam tai bhule gechi. :-) Ilisher aro koyekta recipe ache ... post korbo. :-)

    Mustard based gravy is very common to Bengali cooking Nags. Do try it once. :-)

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  13. Wasn't sure what hyacinth beans were, but the picture looks like surti papdi, and I can get a frozen version of that at the Indian store here. I love anything cooked in mustard paste-- it's part of why I love Bengali food so much. Thanks for this delicious recipe, Sharmila!

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  14. ish....amar-o sorshe sim photo tule pare ache..post kara haini...I love sim..ei same way-te bhindi kare dekhecho, but without onion & potato,ami sim-o kari potato & onion chara..looks lovely, sharmila

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  15. ei post er uttor e aami bolte pari je Sharmila moner moton shundor shajiye theek jerokom rannaghor e ranna'r recipe post kore, sheirokom onno blog khani te nijer thoughts lekhe, you manage to maintain 3 blogs which is quite creditable! Ilish er series taa darun cholchhe

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  16. Vaishali, you are right. They are papdis. Try this sometime. :-)

    Bhindi kore post o korechi Indrani. Tomar tao post kore felo. :-)

    I have updated the post with the meanings of the words Rush. Lemme know how this turns out. :-)

    Thanks Awakening! Aro ilish post asche. Wish I knew your name. :-)

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  17. what block?..hahha..whatever that looks yummy!

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  18. Oh Awakening ... got it. :-) Notun naam ta mone chilo na ... aro baar koyek jete hobe. ;-)

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  19. Something new to me...looks yum....

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  20. Sharmila, tumi ekdom-i boka'r mato katha baloni, tumi darun idea diyecho.. ami after 2 years ei pujo-te kolkata jachchi, tai event-ta korlam na, bhisan ichcha chilo aar ekhono ache..kintu time habe na mane hochche..meyer exam,a ro anek kichu niye busy chalche, tai

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  21. blog hopped from Aparna's, she had been raving about your recipes. The fact that we are quite bad at cooking is universal, Me too never knew that shim is called hyacinth beans..wow!! and me too made this dish without onions..will try with onions next time, it will give more body to the dish..I hate the fact that I spend ages in my kitchen and what i come up with is finished in minutes..and I have to cook again the next day..so will do anything for volume!!

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  22. Hi, There is something for you waiting in our blog..Please come and pick up..

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  23. LOL Valli. :-)

    Thanks KF! Good to see you back. :-)

    :-) Indrani.

    Exactly my thoughts Sujata .. which is why I tend to simplify a dish as much as possible and am often surprised at how tasty simple recipes actually turn out to be. :-)
    Thanks for coming over and leaving such nice words. :-)

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  24. sorshe shim , sorshe potol, sorshe mach.......amaro bhishon priyo....barite Ma banato...kobe jaabo janina, tobe mone mone anek rannar list baniye felechi...bari giyei khete hobe :P

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  25. Am I glad the illish series ended! Am home with backache today so got lots of time to catch up on lost time:). Nice to see so many delicacies lined up:).

    Hey, how is your husband?

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  26. Hope tumi taratari bari jete paro ar bhalo bhalo khabar khete paro Tulip. :-)

    Sunnymommy ... I guessed as much. More veggie recipe henceforth ... promise. :-)
    Too bad about your backache ... doing something about it?
    Hubby is recovering well ... thanks Harini. :-)

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  27. Excellent recipe. The best part about your recipes is that you use very little spices and let the natural taste and flavor of the vegetables come out. Aami ek ek kore tomar shob recipe try korchhi. It is really a boon for people like me who has never cooked before marriage.

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  28. Thanks Madhu! Glad you like my recipes. Yeah ... I don't like to overwhelm the natural flavour of a vegetable with too much of spices.
    I too had never cooked before my marraige ... so guess that prompts me to keep a dish simple and spend less time in the kitchen. :-)

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  29. Dear Sharmila - I tried this recipe today - I can't eat mustard paste (yet) as I find it's such an acquired taste (so pungent!), but of course hubby can't get enough of it and he really liked this dish.

    Thank you for the recipe - I made it with "stringless beans" here and just pretended it was shim :).

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    1. Am so glad your hubby liked it Vaishnavi. Yes, mustard paste is indeed and acquired taste ... but tell you what ... try using white mustard along with the black ones, or only white mustard seeds ... will be less pungent. Try adding a pinch of sugar when cooking ... and always eat it mixed with rice. Hopefully you will learn to like it. :-)
      Thanks again.

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  30. Trying this... was looking for a different sheem recipe but one that was still like what ive grown up eating :)

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    1. Do let me know if you liked it or not Mona.

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  31. Excellent! A simple and easy-to-cook recipe! Carry on, Kichu Khonn!

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