Paat shaak bhaja

Delicious Bengali dish of tender jute leaves that are in season during summer and monsoon months—stir-fried with diced red pumpkins

  • Cooking time
    45 minutes
  • Calories
    kcal
Recommended by
96.6
%
of
7371
members who rated this recipe on Youtube

Shaak, meaning, leafy greens is the second course of a Bengali lunch meal (the first being teto, meaning bitters). Paat shaak is stir-fried jute leaves. The texture of jute leaves is a combination of slightly slimy and fibrous (kind of like mustard greens). This particular family recipe includes ripe pumpkin and potatoes for texture, but several other variations exist.

It is usually served with kashundi which is a Bengali fermented condiment, usually containing mustard.

Jute is a crop native to the Gangetic delta. Its importance in the Bengali culture and economy increased with the setting up of jute mills in the 1800s. These mills produce the yarn that is woven into gunny sacs or burlap. Even today 80% of the world's jute is cultivated in the Gangetic delta.

Books in this recipe

No items found.
Like the work we do? Help keep this site ad-free by making a donation.
Donate

Ingredients

Serves
4–6 servings
  • 100 g paat shaak (jute-plant leaves, cleaned)
  • 40 g potatoes
  • 40 g kumro (pumpkin)
  • 1 pc green chilli
  • ¼ tsp turmeric
  • 3 g salt
  • 4 g sugar
  • 1 pinch atta (flour)
  • kasundi (for serving)

Method

  1. Separate the paat leaves from the stalks (in case of large leaves, remove the central vein as well), and wash them in plenty of water. Set the washed leaves over a colander to drain.
  2. Chop the potatoes and pumpkin into 2 cm long sticks.
  3. Bunch together a few paat leaves at a time and chop them into 2-cm segments as well.
  4. Heat mustard oil in a pan. Temper with dried red chilli and kaalo jeere.
  5. Add the potatoes. Fry them on medium heat for a minute, then add the pumpkin. Fry together for another couple of minutes.
  6. Now add the paat shaak, along with salt and turmeric.
  7. Cover and cook on medium-low heat. The leaves will soon wilt.
  8. Add a slit green chilli and sugar. Continue cooking until the water has dried off.  
  9. At the end, sprinkle a pinch of atta, cook it off for 30 to 40 seconds, and remove from the heat.
  10. Serve with a side of kasundi (a Bengali fermented mustard-based condiment).

Recipe discussion

Did this recipe help you cook something that made you happy?

At Bong Eats, we are working to standardise Bengali recipes, and present them to the world in a way that anyone, anywhere will be able to cook Bengali food with confidence—even if they have never tasted it before. We want the world to know that there is Indian food beyond tikka masala.

A lot of time and money goes into creating precise recipes such as this one. We don't want to depend on advertisements that track our viewers' activities through third-party cookies; we do not want take sponsorship money from companies that don't make subpar products.

You can help us make this a sustainable venture that can employ talented local writers, editors, photographers, recipe-testers, and more. Donate to keep us going.

Make a One-time donation

Help us keep Bong Eats free and open for everyone by making a one-time contribution. You can donate as much as you want. No amount is too little.

Donate
Become a member ⭐️

Join to get access to a vibrant private community of people who full of people who love to cook, feed and eat. Get answers to your questions about recipes, techniques, where to find ingredients from fellow members. If you love cooking, this is the place for you.

Monthly LIVE cookalongs
Shiny new private forum
Adda after every video release
Personalised recommendations
✨ See Membership Perks ✨
OR

✨ What's new?

View all »

Amra'r Chutney

A sweet, sour Bengali chutney made from two kinds of hog plum (biliti amra and deshi amra), spiced with bhaja masala

  • 30 minutes
  • 73
    kcal
Viewers liked this
%

Calcutta Chicken Rezala

Chicken cooked in a thin, pearly white gravy such as the kind served in restaurants like Sabir, Aminia, Shiraz, Royal, Arsalan, etc.

  • 90 mins
  • 371
    kcal
Viewers liked this
99.2
%

Taal'er Kheer

A palmyra fruit pudding

  • 30 minutes
  • 254
    kcal
Viewers liked this
99.2
%

Taal'er Luchi

made with taal (palmyra) pulp

  • 60 minutes
  • 93
    kcal
Viewers liked this
99.2
%
See all New recipes »
More
shaak
recipes
View all »

Notey Shaak

Notey shaak, a leafy green, fried in mustard oil with dried red chillies, sun-dried lentil dumplings and peanuts

  • 45 minutes
  • kcal

Paat shaak bhaja

Delicious Bengali dish of tender jute leaves that are in season during summer and monsoon months—stir-fried with diced red pumpkins

  • 45 minutes
  • kcal
More
bitter
recipes
View all »
No items found.