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Choddo shaak
Fourteen leafy greens stir-fry
চোদ্দ শাক: fourteen leafy greens, bitter neem among them, stir-fried in mustard oil with nigella and dried chilli for Bhoot Chaturdashi
On Bhoot Chaturdashi, the night before Kali Puja and Diwali, Bengali homes light fourteen lamps for their ancestors and eat a dish of fourteen greens at lunch to keep illness and restless spirits away. Markets in Kolkata sell bundles already mixed for the day: spinach, red and green amaranth, Malabar spinach, water spinach, fenugreek, mustard and radish greens, bathua, jute leaves, pumpkin leaves, helencha and a few neem leaves for bitterness. Fried briefly in mustard oil with nigella and dried chilli, they cook down to an earthy, slightly bitter, faintly sweet tangle. It is eaten as the first course with hot rice and a drizzle of ghee for those who want it. If you can't find all fourteen, use what your grocer has; the mix matters more than the exact list. Chef's tip: cook it uncovered after the first wilt so the water evaporates; choddo shaak should be dry and glossy, not stewed.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
The fourteen greens (about 550 g in all)
- 2 ⅛ oz spinach (palong shaak)
- 1 ¾ oz red amaranth (lal shaak)
- 1 ¾ oz green amaranth (notey shaak)
- 1 ⅜ oz Malabar spinach (pui shaak)
- 1 ⅜ oz water spinach (kolmi shaak)
- 1 ⅜ oz radish leaves (mulo shaak)
- 1 ⅜ oz bathua (chenopodium)
- 1 ⅜ oz pumpkin leaves (kumro shaak)
- 10 neem leaves
For cooking
- 2 tbsp mustard oil
- ½ tsp nigella seeds (kalonji)
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp sugar
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Wash all the greens in several changes of water, lifting them out each time so the grit stays behind. Common mistake: one quick rinse; leafy greens from the market hold sand that crunches in the finished dish.
10 minStep 2: Strip tough stems and finely chop 2 ⅛ oz spinach (palong shaak), 1 ¾ oz red amaranth (lal shaak), 1 ¾ oz green amaranth (notey shaak), 1 ⅜ oz Malabar spinach (pui shaak), 1 ⅜ oz water spinach (kolmi shaak), 1 oz fenugreek leaves (methi), 1 ⅜ oz mustard greens (sorshe shaak), 1 ⅜ oz radish leaves (mulo shaak), 1 ⅜ oz bathua (chenopodium), 1 oz jute leaves (pat shaak), 1 ⅜ oz pumpkin leaves (kumro shaak), 1 oz helencha (buffalo spinach) and 1 oz water clover (shushni shaak). Keep the tougher stalks of the amaranth and pui separate.
Step 3: Heat 2 tbsp mustard oil in a wide kadhai over a high heat until it just smokes, then lower to medium. Fry 10 neem leaves for 20–30 seconds until crisp and dark, lift out and set aside.
1 minStep 4: Add ½ tsp nigella seeds (kalonji) and 2 dried red chillies to the oil and fry for 10 seconds until the chillies darken.
Step 5: Add the chopped stalks first and stir-fry for 2 minutes, then all the chopped greens with ¼ tsp ground turmeric and ¾ tsp salt. Cover for 2 minutes until they collapse.
4 minStep 6: Uncover and cook on a medium-high heat, stirring, for 6–8 minutes until the liquid has evaporated and the greens look dark and glossy.
8 minStep 7: Stir in ½ tsp sugar and crumble the fried neem back in. Serve hot as the first course with plain rice.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 90 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 8 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does choddo shaak take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of ground turmeric?
- Leave it out (it mostly adds colour).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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