Shutkir Bora Chalkumro Pataye—Shutki Cigars
Spice, fudgy dried Bombay duck wrapped in ashgourd-leaf parcels
- Cooking time90 mins
Calories168kcal
Shutkir Bora is a delicacy in many parts of Bengal, Assam, Tripura, etc. Shutki means dried fish in Bengali, while bora is a fritter or a fry. This particular recipe comes from Rohitashwa's maternal aunt's (mami's) sister's husband's family, that hails from Bikrampur, Dhaka, of erstwhile East Bengal. Currently the region is known as Munshiganj—still a part of the Dhaka district in Bangladesh.
A dark green ashgourd leaf rolled into a cigar with a deep red shutki filling—this dish is spectacular to look at even before you take a bite. The texture of the fudgy filling is a delightful contrast to the thin, crispy, fried-leaf wrapper. And for someone who appreciates the taste of dried fish, this dish is addictive.
There is nothing subtle about how it tastes. It is hot, it is pungent, it is a visceral experience. A lot of chillies go into this, both fresh and dried, along with a generous quantity of onions that provides both the jammy consistency as well as a sweetness to balance the savouriness.
Turjo makes this with loitta (bombay duck) shutki but it can be made with your favourite dried or femented fish as well.
Don't expect to walk into a market and find ashgourd leaves. While pumpkin and bottle gourd vines are available year round, ashgourd leaves are less common. It will require some coordination with your green grocer.
If you live in a place where there is no hope of finding ashgourd leaves, you can make this with bottle gourdd leaves too. There is a difference in the final result—ashgourrd leaves are thinner, more delicate. When pan fried they turn crispy. Bottlegourd leaves don't turn out as crisp and are more fibrous and chewy. It still tastes pretty good. Having said that it is worth the adventure to try and find ashgourd leaves if you can.
If you can't find an appropriate leaf, just make the filling. You will miss the spectacle, but it will be very satisfying nonetheless.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ingredients
- 100 g loitta shutki (dried Bombay duck)
- 250 g onions (sliced)
- 30 g garlic
- 15 g green chillies
- 15 g dried red chillies (soaked in hot water)
- 90 g mustard oil
- 18 g total salt
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 500 ml hot water
- 8–10 chalkumro pata (ashgourd leaves)
Method
Prep shutki
- Shutki, i.e., dried fish, can contain sand and grit. It is important to clean it well. First, soak shutki in hot water, then drain the water and wash it thoroughly under running water.
- Next, boil the shutki with salt and turmeric for 5–6 minutes until it is rehydrated and pliable. Drain the water and place the shutki over a strainer to drain some of the excess moisture.
- In small batches, break down the shutki using a stone sheel-nora, or a mortar-pestle. The strands should separate but it should retain some texture and not turn to mush. If you must use an electric grinder, pulse, don't grind. Don't make a paste.
Make shutki filling
- Soak the dried red chillies in hot water for 15 minutes to rehydrate them.
- Grind the dried red chillies, fresh green chillies, and garlic together into a smooth paste. Use the chilli-soaking liquid to help with grinding, if necesary.
- Slice the onions finely and uniformly.
- Heat mustard oil in a thick bottomed kadai or pot.
- Add the sliced onions and cook on medium high heat while stirring frequently. Wait until the onions turn a uniformly golden colour, about 15 minutes.
- Next, add the chilli-garlic paste and continue to fry. Lower the heat if it starts to catch at the bottom. You can add a splash or two of hot water too if required. Cook until the raw flavour of the garlic subsides, about 15 minutes.
- Finally, add the crushed shutki and mix everything well.
- Add salt. Cook until all moisture dries up and oil starts to separate or the mixture becomes shiny and fudge-like.
- Transfer to a plate and allow to cool.
Prepare leaves
- Wash the ashgourd leaves and spread them out on a clean cloth to dry.
- Snip off the stalks.
Form the shutki cigars
- Lay a leaf out with the shiny side facing up. This side will go inside the cigar.
- Place about 30–40 grams of the shutki filling on one end of a leaf. Roll whilst pushing back to form a taut cylinder. Halfway through, fold the left and right side inwards to close off the two ends. Now, finish rolling the rest of the way to form a neat roll that won't easily come undone.
- Repeat for all of the shutki bora/cigars.
Fry the shutkir bora
- Add mustard oil to a hot flat skillet or tawa so that it covers the surface with a thin film of oil.
- Gently place all of the leaf parcels in the hot oil. Fry on medium heat until the bottom turns dark green and crisp.
- Use two spatulas or a pair of tongs to flip the parcels over. Fry until the roll is uniformly crisp on all sides. This should take a total of 8 minutes. Since the filling is fully cooked already, we only need to crisp up the leaf wrapper.
- Serve immediately with plain boiled rice.
