Non Bengali Ghonto

I am totally in love with panch phoron; to the extent that I am going on to hail it as the perfect spice blend. I use it for breakfast potatoes. The flavor of panch phoron allows vegetables to be cooked in a simple fashion, just a little mustard oil, dry red chilies, turmeric, and salt are enough to enhance the flavor of the vegetables. Compare this to the tedium of North Indian cooking, where we sauté the onions, tomatoes, coriander powder, garam masala till we get a rich spice base. Don’t get me wrong, I am a proud North Indian girl and love my food; however, the simplicity of making vegetables the Bengali way has charmed me lately. Apparently, my web research reflects that “ghonto” means a mixture where the ingredients are mixed/mashed together completely. Most popularly, the web is abounded with recipes of “Muri Ghonto” where fish head is cooked with rice and potatoes, “Mocha Ghonto” where banana blossom is cooked with spices, and “Mulor Ghonto” where radish is cooked with potatoes. Some “Ghontos” have lentils in them. . I have no idea what this dish is called. It has potatoes, spinach, and squash. I guess the commonality to all the Ghontos are the red chilies, panch phoron, mustard oil, and turmeric. So I will just call it “Ghonto by a non Bengali.”

I bought a little squash from the Chinese market the other day. The band aid on my finger will remind me to stick to pre peeled and pre cut squash from henceforth. I used vegetable oil, so any true Bengali will have nothing but scorn for my version of Ghonto.

2 potatoes finely cubed
½ bag of baby spinach
½ tspn turmeric
4 dry red chilies
½ small squash cubed ( nearly a cup)
½ tspn sugar
Salt
1 tspn panch phoron
Cumin powder

1. Take some oil in a pan and add the panch phoron. When it splutters, add the chilies.
2. Throw in the potatoes and spinach. Add salt and some water.
3. Cover and cook till potatoes are done. Add some water.
4. Add the squash,
5. Add cumin powder and sugar.
6. Cook till done. Keep adding water if you need to. I don’t like this very dry. At the end , my vegetables resembled a thick paste, and tasted delicious.