Hasna Begum’s Mixed Vegetable Curry

Name: Hasna Begum’s Mixed Vegetable Curry
Yield: Serves 4 to 5
Cuisine: Bangladesh
Ingredients: 2 green cayenne chiles, cut into ½-inch-wide rings; 1 scant cup cubed (½-inch dice) potatoes; 1 cup seeded, peeled, and cubed (½-inch dice) squash, such as delicata or pumpkin; A generous handful of green beans, trimmed and cut into ½-inch lengths (1 cup); 1 cup peeled and cubed (½-inch dice) zucchini or other summer squash; 1 teaspoon Bengali Five-Spice Mixture, or a scant ¼ teaspoon each black mustard, cumin, fennel, fenugreek, and nigella seeds; 1 scant cup cubed (¼-inch dice) carrots; 2 bay leaves; 3 tablespoons mustard oil or vegetable oil or a blend of the two; ½ teaspoon turmeric; ½ teaspoon cayenne; 1 teaspoon ground coriander; About 1½ teaspoons salt; 1¼ cups water; Coriander sprigs (optional); About 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, or to taste; 2 teaspoons sugar; Lime wedges

Preparation info

Serves
4 to 5

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Mangoes & Curry Leaves

By Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid

Published 2005

About

This simple Bangladeshi mixed vegetable dish is called niramish, meaning “no protein.” It contains no meat—and no onion or garlic either. It cooks in about ten minutes, a real bonus when you’re in a rush. Chopping takes a little time, but not more than ten minutes.

The main thing is to use an equal amount of a number of vegetables, all cut small. This recipe calls for about one cup (from about a quarter pound) of five different vegetables. If you want to omit one, increase th