Besara
mixed vegetables in a sharp ground-mustard gravy, pungent enough to make your eyes water
Allergens in Besara: mustard.
Ingredients
Quantities for 4.
- 2 tbsp, soaked in warm water 20 minutes Mustard Seedsthe whole dish is named for this
- 4 cloves Garlicground into the mustard paste
- 3 Green Chilli2 for the paste, 1 slit for the pot
- 2 medium, cut into 2cm chunks Potato
- 1 small (about 200g), cut into 3cm pieces Eggplant
- 200g, peeled and cubed Pumpkin
- 1, peeled and cut into 1cm rounds Raw Bananaoptional
- 1, cut into 6cm lengths Drumstickoptional
- 1 tsp Panch Phoron
- 2, broken Dried Red Chilli
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric
- 3 tbsp Mustard Oil
- to taste Salt
- 600ml Water
- 2 tbsp, chopped Coriander Leavesoptional
Cookware
stovetop, kadhai, blender
Checked against the ingredient list for ten allergens: milk, egg, fish, crustaceans, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame, mustard, soy and gluten. Brands vary, so read the label on anything new to you.
Before you start
- Soak the mustard seeds in warm water for at least 20 minutes before grinding. Unsoaked seeds grind unevenly and taste bitter rather than hot.
- Grind the mustard with the garlic, 2 green chillies and a pinch of salt to a fine paste with 4 tbsp water. Salt in the grinder keeps the paste from turning bitter.
- Cut the vegetables into even 2-3cm pieces so nothing collapses while the slower pieces cook.
Method
- Grind the soaked mustard seeds, garlic, 2 green chillies and a pinch of salt to a smooth paste with 4 tbsp water. Set aside.Grind in short bursts. Long continuous grinding heats the paste and makes it acrid.
- Heat the mustard oil in a kadhai until it smokes, then lower the flame for 30 seconds.
- Add the panch phoron and broken dried red chillies. When the seeds pop and the chillies darken, about 20 seconds, add the slit green chilli.
- Add the potato and raw banana and fry 3 minutes, stirring, until the surfaces turn matte.
- Add the pumpkin, eggplant and drumstick with the turmeric and salt. Fry 2 minutes more.
- Pour in the water, bring to a boil, cover and simmer 12 minutes until the potato is nearly tender.
- Lower the flame to its weakest setting and stir in the mustard paste. Do not let it boil hard from here on.Boiling ground mustard hard is the classic besara mistake. It turns the gravy bitter within a minute.
- Simmer uncovered on low for 6-8 minutes, until the raw smell of the mustard has gone and the gravy coats a spoon.
- Taste for salt, stir in the coriander leaves and take off the heat. Rest 5 minutes before serving with rice.
Storage
Best the day it is made. The mustard sharpens overnight. Keeps 2 days refrigerated; reheat on the lowest flame with a splash of water and never let it boil.
Nutrition Good estimate
One serving of Besara (397 g) is about 297 calories, or 75 calories per 100 g.
Low protein: 5 g a serving, 7% of the calories
| Per serving397 g | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 297 kcal | 75 kcal |
| Protein | 5.2 g | 1 g |
| Carbohydrate | 46.1 g | 12 g |
| of which sugars | 16.2 g | 4 g |
| Fibre | 5.7 g | 1 g |
| Fat | 12.5 g | 3 g |
| of which saturated | 1.4 g | 0 g |
| of which unsaturated | 9.8 g | 2 g |
Ingredients given to taste count as zero, so the real figures run a little higher. Nearest database match used for panch phoron. Estimated from raw ingredients using USDA FoodData Central.
More like this: Vegan Indian recipes · Vegetarian Indian recipes · Gluten-free Indian recipes · Dairy-free Indian recipes · Odia recipes
Times, yields, allergens and nutrition are guidance. Use your own judgement on doneness and on storing. More in About.