This bhapa pui shak recipe is a classic Bengali vegetarian dish made using pui shak or malabar spinach and steaming it with freshly grated coconut. Simple recipes like this bhapa pui shak need just 4 ingredients to give us easy-to-cook meals.
Leafy green vegetables are very popular in Bengali cuisine, and this bhapa pui saag ticks all the checkboxes. It is niramish, vegetarian, steam-cooked with minimal spices, and offers a perfect vegetarian side dish for a comfort meal.
Bhapa pui shak recipe ingredients
- Malabar leaves or Pui shak: 500 gms
- Coconut: 1/4 cup finely grated
- Mustard Oil: 2 tbsp
- Salt to taste
- Green chilies: 1-2 nos.
Bhapa pui shak recipe instructions
- Step 1: Prep the pui shaak – Pluck the leaves and separate them from the stalks. Store the stalks for the pui shak chorchori recipe.
Wash the pui saag leaves 2-3 times to remove any dust or sand sticking to the leaves. Drain the water completely before finely chopping them. - Step 2: Mix the ingredients – Take a mixing bowl and put the finely chopped pui shak in it. Add the grated coconut to it. Season with salt as per taste.
- Step 3: Cook the shaak – Pour the pui saag mix into a stainless steel container. Top it with sliced green chilies and a slight drizzle of mustard oil. Close the lid of the box and place it in a steamer. Allow it to steam for 10–12 minutes before removing it from the heat.
If you do not have a steamer, then you can use a pressure cooker (without the whistle) or an electric rice cooker for the same. - Step 4: Adjust and finish – Once done, take the box out and check if the pui shak or malabar spinach has softened completely and cooked thoroughly. In case you find excessive water, pour the cooked shaak out in a pan and stir it for a minute or two to dry out the excess water. Finish with a slight drizzle of mustard oil or a dash of kasundi for an extra kick.
Serving suggestion
A vegetarian cuisine recipe like this bhapa pui shak would be traditionally served at the beginning of the meal. Vegetarian dishes such as this add a good dose of fiber and nutritional value to the meal.
A Bengali everyday meal would often include bhaat or rice and dal with this bhapa pui shaak.
More Bengali shaak recipes
- Palong Shaker Ghonto | পালং শাকের ঘন্ট
- Macher Matha Diye Pui Shaak Chorchori | মাছের মাথা দিয়ে পুঁইশাক চচ্চড়ি
- Kochu Shak Ghonto | কচু শাকের ঘন্ট
- Laal Shaak Bhaja | লাল শাক ভাজা
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This bhapa pui shak recipe is a classic Bengali vegetarian dish made using pui shak or malabar spinach and steaming it with freshly grated coconut. Simple recipes like this bhapa pui shak need just 4 ingredients to give us easy-to-cook meals.
- 500 gms Pui Shak or Malabar Spinach Finely Chopped
- Salt to Taste
- 1/4 cup Grated Coconut
- 1 Green Chili Finely Chopped
- 2 tbsp Mustard Oil
Step 1: Prep the pui shaak – Pluck the leaves and separate them from the stalks. Store the stalks for pui shak chorchori recipe.
- Wash the pui saag leaves 2-3 times to remove any dust or sand sticking to the leaves. Drain the water completely before finely chopping them.
Step 2: Mix the ingredients – Take a mixing bowl and put the finely chopped pui shak in it. Add the grated coconut to it. Season with salt as per taste.
Step 3: Cook the shaak – Pour the pui saag mix into a stainless steel container. Top it with sliced green chilies and a slight drizzle of mustard oil. Close the lid of the box and place it in a steamer. Allow it to steam for 10–12 minutes before removing it from the heat.
- If you do not have a steamer, then you can use a pressure cooker (without the whistle) or an electric rice cooker for the same.
Step 4: Adjust and finish – Once done, take the box out and check if the pui shak or malabar spinach has softened completely and cooked thoroughly. In case you find excessive water, pour the cooked shaak out in a pan and stir it for a minute or two to dry out the excess water. Finish with a slight drizzle of mustard oil or a dash of kasundi for an extra kick.
This post was first published on January 30, 2018, and later republished with a more elaborate recipe description.
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