We are extremely excited to show you this dish! Specifically if you live in the UK, you will no doubt know by now that your local ‘Indian’ restaurant is most likely run by Bengalis. Bengalis have done so well in cultivating the Indian hospitality scene in the UK. But did you know that the stuff that Bengalis serve in your favourite curry house, is nothing like what they have at home/what their forefathers used to munch on? Indeed, curry in the UK has evolved to meet the taste preferences of Brits.
So, we’re going to be showing you the most authentic of Bangladeshi dishes today. This recipe is a much loved favourite and spans generations in our family. You are going to be trying shutki!
What is Shutki?
Shutki is a form of dried fish used very commonly in Bengal. Drying and fermenting fish is an age old technique of preserving food especially in Bengal, a region abundant with seafood and sunshine. Fermented fish I hear you ponder…yes, I think it’s safe to say this is an acquired taste.
The texture of shutki is probably best described as brittle. It is incredibly flavoursome, quite salty and when you consider it is effectively a controlled form of rotting fish, you’ll understand when I say the smell and taste is VERY pungent. In Bengali cuisine, more often than not shutki is added to a dish because of the flavour it brings and so you’ll find it’s often served with another type of fish that isn’t dried or fermented. There are SO MANY different kinds of shutki and so many different ways of preparing it. We’ll be showing you one amazing way of doing so.
I really love this ingredient! For me, shutki sums up Bangladesh’s geography so well. Dried fish is very common in the far east, in parts of Indonesia for example, they serve it with steamed rice and sambal chilli paste. In Myanmar, the famed Balachaung is a very popular condiment made from dried shrimp. As Bangladesh is effectively the point where the sub continent meets the far east, it’s no surprise that when the eastern delicacy of dried fish reaches Bangladesh, it takes the form of the south Asian favourite – a curry, and is pretty much always served with rice.
The further east of Bangladesh you go, the more popular shutki generally is, so it’s shutki galore in places like Sylhet and Chittagong. The shutki we’ll be using in this recipe, we picked up whist in Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh, which borders Myanmar.
There are a few processes through which shutki is made. One of the shutkis we use was created by being dried in the sun for days, the other was sun-dried and then fermented for months. Both are Puhti ‘mas’ (fish), a small freshwater fish. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS:
1 butternut squash
8 Puhti fish shutki (sun-dried)
8 Puhti fish shutki (sun-dried + fermented)
250g Rui fish
200g medium sized fresh water prawns
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp chilli powder
1tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
5 green chillies
1/2 large onion (diced)
1/2tsp coriander powder
200ml water (for curry)
5 cups rice
1. Begin by cutting your butternut squash into medium sized chunks.
2. Add diced onions, salt and 100ml of water into a hot pan and allow the onions to soften for a few minutes.
3. Next add the chopped butternut, shutki (fermented/shidol aka hidol), chopped garlic, turmeric, coriander powder and chilli powder into the pan. Stir will and add another 100ml of water.
4. Close lid and cook for 10 mins on medium heat.
5. Now add your Rui fish and prawns as well as second batch of shutki and green chillies.
6. Stir well before covering and cooking for another 8-10 mins also on medium heat. Check in midway. Your curry should now be complete
7. Add 5 cups of rice to your rice cooker bowl and thoroughly wash and drain. Once cleaned, add water to the rice, is should be double the rice in height in the bowl. Switch the rice cooker on and cook for approx 20 mins/until the rice cooker is off.
8. Serve your shutki and butternut squash curry with some rice and you’re good to go! Enjoy a real and authentic taste of Bengal!
Have a look how it’s done below: