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Bengali Mixed Veggies – Chorchori / Charchari Recipe. Cauliflower Potato Green Beans Peas with Bengali (Eastern Indian) Spices. Panch Phoron Phulkopi Recipe. Easy Veggie Side. Vegan Gluten-free Soy-free Recipe. Pin this Post.
Panch phoron is the name for Bengali 5 spice. Bengal is a state in Eastern India and is famous for its own specialties and cuisine. Rasgullas, Sandesh and other dairy sweets, fish, rice, mustard seeds and mustard oil and spice blends specific to the regional cuisine. 5 whole spices are mixed and stored as Panch Phoron and use whole or ground in many dishes.
This simple veggie side has the 5 spices, some turmeric, heat and a dash of water or broth and cooked until done. Gobi Aloo Bengali Style. Make this and serve with the 6 ingredient Mango Dal or other Dals or serve in wraps like Gobi aloo Wraps with chutneys and crunchy lettuce.
This recipe has no onion and garlic, but still has that onion+garlic flavor. The flavor comes from nigella seeds and asafetida. Nigella seeds are not as commonly used in some regional cuisines in India. You will find them stuck on Naans, or added to spice blends or pastes esp marinade pastes. They are also used in Ethiopian cuisine. They are a whole spice, so definitely get some as the seeds will last a long time.
More Regional Indian food from the blog.
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with spices and sesame seeds GF
- Mixed Veggie Pakora /Fritters – Baked GF
- Aloo Baingan – Potato Eggplant Curry GF
- Jackfruit Chickpea Coconut Stir Fry GF
- Carrot Veggie Fried Rice GF
- Edamame Kara Kuzhambu – Edamame in Tamarind Sauce GF
Served below with Mango Dal and Turmeric Lemon rice.
Bengali Mixed Veggies - Charchari Recipe
Ingredients
- 1.5 tsp ground mustard
- 1/4 tsp or more turmeric
- 1/4 cup or more water
- 2 cups cauliflower florets
- 1 cup chopped potato
- 1/2 to 1 cup chopped green beans
- 1 cup chopped pumpkin , or squash or sweet potato
- 1/2 cup green peas, fresh or thawed if frozen
- 1/2 tsp or more salt
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 tsp Panch Phoron, Or use 1/4 tsp each of cumin seeds, mustard seeds, nigella seeds, and 1/8 tsp each of fennel seeds and fenugreek seeds
- 1/8 tsp asafetida, omit to make gluten-free or use certified gluten-free asafetida
- 2 green chills, chopped
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp sugar, or other sweetener to taste
Instructions
- Mix the turmeric and mustard powder in 1/4 cup water and add to a skillet over medium heat. Add the veggies except peas to the skillet and mix. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
- Add peas, salt, mix, Cover and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the tempering. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add panch phoron spices and let the spices start to pop. 2 mins. (use a lid if the spices pop out too much)
- Add asafetida and green chilies and cook for a minute or until the chilies are golden.
- Add this tempering to the skillet with cooking veggies and mix in well. Add in sugar and mix. Taste and adjust salt and spice. Add some cayenne if needed for heat. Add a splash of water if the veggies are sticking. Cover and cook for another few minutes or until the veggies are done to preference. Cook uncovered if too wet. Garnish with cilantro and lemon (optional). Serve as a side in Indian meal or in a bowl with Dal and rice or flatbread.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
But this is not charred.
its a mixed veggie side with roasted spices, called charchari
But to get that char flavor, don’t you have to not stir it and then let the after all the water boils away, let the ghee form the char crust?
Great recipe! I’m doing a culinary tour of India and making dishes from the various states, and this one is great! I paired it with chola daal from your indian kitchen cookbook! Soo delish!
awesome!
This was great! I used mushrooms instead of peas, and it was also good. A very versatile and healthy recipe.
Awesome!
Yummy!
Aloha Richa – I’ve always wondered in recipes like this if the tempering could be the first step, and then the rest of the veggies could be added to that same pot. Would it change the flavor much? I wouldn’t think the spices would burn because you’d add the veggies and broth together. What do you think? (Either way, I’m making this tomorrow night!)
Yes, you can do that. Many recipes follow that process like in my Punjabi Gobi aloo or other North Indian Veggie recipes. It depends on the traditional/regional recipe. The process here is to steam the veggies with turmeric and mustard (traditionally mustard paste made from soaked mustard seeds) and then add the tempering. The flavor of the tempering spices is more pronounced (in the clumps of whole spices per bite), if it hasnt been cooked into the dish for long. The veggies don’t pick up all of the flavor, but get covered in the spices and tempering flavor.
While if you temper, then cook the veggies in the tempering for the 20 odd mins, the spices and flavors distribute into the final dish. Both are going to taste great. There is a bit of difference in flavor and texture depending on the method. Hope that makes sense.
For eg, Dals also can be cooked both ways. Cook the lentils in the tempering, or add the tempering to cooked lentils.
Hi Richa. You refer to sugar in the instructions but I don’t see it listed in the ingredients. How much sugar did you add?
1/4 to 1/2 tsp
I’ve never tried a real authentic Bengali dish before, but I do order somewhat similar dishes when I go to an Indian restaurant. Still super delicious with tons of healthy vegetables and different spices! 😀 This is such a great take–cauliflower and pumpkin are my favorite vegetables for any time of the year!
Indian restaurants mainly focus on North Indian cuisine, so its harder to find regional food there. The flavor profile in these is very different.
I love getting your recipes in my mail! I’m making the gluten-free blondies today.
Just checked the cookbook for mango dal and didn’t see it. I must have missed that recipe. Can you tell me where to find it?
Thank you!
Awesome! Mango dal is on the blog. https://www.veganricha.com/2016/04/mango-dal.html