Sheem Aloo Shorshe | Hyacinth Beans in Mustard Sauce

Sheem Aloo Shorshe | Hyacinth Beans in Mustard Sauce

Author: Rumki Paul
Course: Main
Cuisine: Bengali
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Servings: 3-4 Persons

Sheem Aloo Shorshe (Hyacinth Beans in Mustard Sauce) is an authentic Bengali food and one of the most reliable comfort dishes. It is a very popular vegan side dish of winter season in India. In this preparation, Flat beans and Potatoes are cooked in Mustard paste with Tomatoes, green Chillies and minimal spices. It is an excellent side and goes superb with Dal-Chawal or with Indian flat bread.

Sheem Aloo Shorshe is a very simple and easy recipe. It requires very limited numbers of ingredients to get prepared. The best part of the recipe is that it gets prepared within half an hour without any hassle. Sheem Aloo Shorshe is one of the best options for vegetarian days. This dish can be a healthy and tasty addition to your regular diet.

I have learnt this authentic Bengali recipe from my mother. I love vegetables and broad beans are one of them. I still remember how my mother used to prepare Sheem Aloo Bhaja, Sheem Aloo Shorshe, Sheem Data Chorchori for us. Sometimes she used to add flat beans in fish curries too.

Sheem Aloo Shorshe with step by step photos and instructions has been provided in the ‘Instructions’ section of the recipe. But before directly jumping into the recipe, let me share few interesting facts about flat beans and the recipe.

Flat beans Recipe

Flat beans are very famous green vegetable in India, and you will get it almost in every part of the country. Flat beans are not only popular among Bongs but is also used in different other cuisines too. It is a very versatile green vegetable which is used in different types of recipes. It is used to prepare stir fry, gravy curries, dry curries, vegetable dal, non-veg preparations. Even roasted and baked preparations of flat beans taste superb too.

Benefits of Flat beans

What kind of Mustard seeds to be used in this recipe?

Normally, two types of Mustard seeds are used in cooking, yellow and black. Black mustards have strong pungent flavour as compared to yellow mustard seeds. Yellow seeds have mild flavour.

Note: Sometimes few black mustard seeds have bitter taste.

Now-a-days, in order to reduce the effort of cooking, yellow mustard powder is also easily available in market. In this recipe, I have used the same. Other than this, most of the people uses yellow mustard seeds for this preparation.

How to make Sheem Aloo Shorshe?

To prepare this Bengali dish, first I have trimmed the edges of Broad beans and cut them into large pieces or halves. I have cut the Potatoes into wedges to get a perfectly balanced texture. I have also used Tomatoes in this dish. It enhances the taste of the dish.

Broad beans have their own flavour. I have used mustard oil to cook this dish. It gives better flavour and taste to the dish. I have used Nigella seeds for the tempering of the dish. Nigella seeds work great in mustard flavoured preparations.

I have used yellow mustard seeds powder for the dish. First, I have soaked it in Luke warm water with a pinch of turmeric powder for some time before adding into the curry. I have also added ginger paste in this dish. It complements the flavour of the dish very well. Other than turmeric powder and mustard powder, I have not used any other ground spice to flavour up the dish.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons Yellow Mustard powder
• Pinch of Turmeric powder
• Pinch of Salt
• 5-6 tablespoons of Luke warm water

• 250 grams Sheem (Flat Beans), cut into large pieces
• 2 Large Potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
• 2 green Chillies
• 1 Tomato, deseeded and vertically cut into 8 pieces
• ¼ teaspoon Nigella seeds (Kalonji)
• ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• Mustard oil for cooking
• ½ cup of Water (Quantity may vary according to preferred consistency)

1. Take yellow Mustard seeds powder into a small container.
2. Add Turmeric powder, salt, lukewarm water and give a nice mix. Make sure no lumps are there. Keep it aside.
   

3. Put Oil into the pan and wait until the Oil is hot.
   

4. Add Nigella seeds and let them crackle.
   

5. Add Potatoes, green Chillies and mix them properly.
   

6. Cook them in medium flame for 2 minutes.
7. Add Sheem (Broad Beans) and give a nice mix.
   

8. Cover the pan and cook them for 4-5 minutes in low flame.
   

9. Add Ginger paste and give a nice mix.
   

10. Cook them in medium flame until the raw smell goes away.
11. Add Tomatoes and give a nice mix.
    

12. Cover the pan and cook them for 2-3 minutes in low flame.
13. Add Turmeric powder, Salt and mix them well.
    

14. Cook them in low flame for couple of minutes. Stir occasionally.
15. Add the Mustard paste (Step 2) into the pan and stir nicely.
    

16. Cover the pan and cook them in low flame until the vegetables get tender.
17. Add water and mix them nicely.
    

18. Put the flame in high and cover the pan until the gravy simmers.
19. Cook the curry in low flame for another minute and switch off the flame.