This pui shaker chorchori is a classic Bengali vegetarian dish where fresh leaves and stalks of malabar spinach are cooked with a medley of vegetables such as pumpkin, potato, and eggplant. Bengali vegetable curry dishes like this pui shak er chorchori are a part of everyday Bengali cooking that adds vital nutrients to daily family meals.

Pui shak or malabar spinach is a widely available leafy green vegetable. With minimum wastage, almost the entirety of this plant is used in a variety of healthy dishes. While the leaves and stems are used in pui shaak danta chorchori, the ripened seeds called pui metuli are also used in stir-fry recipes.

A popular Bengali saying is,” শাকের মধ্যে পুঁই, মাছের মধ্যে রুই” (loosely translated as among green vegetables it is pui; and among fishes it is rui or rohu). This signifies the popularity of this leafy green vegetable among the Bengalis. So, let’s see how I make pui shaker chorchori.

Table of Contents

Ingredients for Pui shaker chorchori recipe

Malabar Spinach or Pui Shak (Poi Saag): 1 bundle weighing half a kilo.
Pumpkin: 200 gms (ripened)
Potato: 2 medium-sized
Eggplant: 1 medium-sized, weighing approx. 250 gms
Onion: 1 large-sized
Mustard Oil: 2 tablespoons
Panchphoron: 1/4 teaspoon
Salt: ½ teaspoon (or to taste)
Sugar: ½ teaspoon
Green Chili – 1 (or to taste)

Instructions for Pui shaker chorchori recipe

Step 1: Prep the pui shaak – Pui shaak is a minimum-wastage leafy vegetable. Simply remove an inch from the bottom end while keeping the leaves and the stalks (danta). If the main stem appears too hard and thick, then you can discard it. Otherwise, peel the thin skin off the stems or danta and chop them into one-inch-long pieces. Chop the pui pata or the leaves as well. Wash everything well 2-3 times to remove any dust or sand sticking to the leaves. Drain the water completely.
Step 2: Heat the oil – Grab a medium-sized pan or kadai and heat mustard oil over a medium flame. Once it’s hot (you’ll see it shimmer), toss in the panchphoron and a green chilli. Let them sizzle for 10-15 seconds
Step 3: Cook the vegetables – Add the chopped onion and saute on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Then add diced eggplant (begun), pumpkin (kumro), potato (aloo), and the chopped pui shaak and danta. Add salt and give everything a good stir. Cover the pan with a lid for faster cooking. Leafy green vegetables release a lot of moisture, so this allows cooking in their juice.
Step 4: Adjust and finish – Once the vegetables are thoroughly cooked and reduced in quantity, check for seasoning.

Serving suggestion

This pui shaker chorchori is traditionally served with rice or bhat. This is an all-in-one vegetable-based side dish that may or may not require another fish or meat dish. In the end, there is usually a chutney made with seasonal vegetables or fruit.

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Pui Shaker Chorchori | পুঁই শাকের চচ্চড়ি

Priyanka

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Total Time 35

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Bengali

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

1 bundle Malabar Spinach or Pui Shak Poi Saag – approx weighing half a kilo.
200 gms Pumpkin ripened
2 nos. Potato medium-sized
1 Eggplant medium-sized weighing approx. 250 gms
1 Onion large-sized
2 tbsp Mustard Oil
¼ teaspoon Panchphoron
½ teaspoon Salt to Taste
½ teaspoon Sugar
1 nos. Green Chili or to taste

Instructions

Step 1: Prep the pui shaak – Pui shaak is a minimum-wastage leafy vegetable. Simply remove an inch from the bottom end while keeping the leaves and the stalks (danta).
If the main stem appears too hard and thick, then you can discard it. Otherwise, peel the thin skin off the stems or danta and chop them into one-inch-long pieces. Chop the pui pata or the leaves as well. Wash everything well 2-3 times to remove any dust or sand sticking to the leaves. Drain the water completely.
Step 2: Heat the oil – Grab a medium-sized pan or kadai and heat mustard oil over a medium flame. Once it’s hot (you’ll see it shimmer), toss in the panchphoron and a green chilli. Let them sizzle for 10-15 seconds
Step 3: Cook the vegetables – Add the chopped onion and saute on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Then add diced eggplant (begun), pumpkin (kumro), potato (aloo), and the chopped pui shaak and danta.
Add salt and give everything a good stir. Cover the pan with a lid for faster cooking. Leafy green vegetables release a lot of moisture, so this allows cooking in their juice.
Step 4: Adjust and finish – Once the vegetables are thoroughly cooked and reduced in quantity, check for seasoning.

Keyword Malabar Spinach Recipes, vegetarian recipes