Pui Michuri or Malabar Spinach fruit as it is called, is a traditional Bengali dish that is not made frequently these days. It is like the lost recipe that was in much demand in the previous times.
Pui Michuri is available in the market in the middle of spring. The Malabar spinach plants start fruiting as soon as the spring rolls in. The Pui dana can be eaten in two forms: one when it is green and ready to consume and the other when it takes up the dark blackish berry red color.
It can be made with shrimp and other types of veggies or just sautéed with the simple ingredients. For the easy one, you will need just a few stuff, like potatoes, chilis, etc. The sweet earthy taste of the pui dana comes through while the potatoes add a starchy texture to it. The recipe is spicy and scrumptious. Nothing is too overpowering and hence the star of the dish, Pui Michuri, can be enjoyed thoroughly. Give this a try, if you have not and feed all the others.
Let us go through the list of ingredients and the process to make it.
Pui Michuri Recipe (Bengali Style Pui Metuli)
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups Pui Michuri
- 2 Potatoes medium
- 2 Dry Red Chilis
- 3 Green Chilis
- ½ tsp Panch Phoron
- ½ tsp Red Chili Powder
- 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
- Salt to taste
- Sugar to taste; optional
- Mustard Oil
Instructions
Prepare the veggies
- First, start by washing the pui michuri nicely but gently under water. Strain the excess water and keep it aside.
- Now, peel and cut the potatoes into small cubes. Wash them in water and drain out the water.
- To the potato cubes, add half tsp of turmeric powder and marinate them nicely.
Fry the potatoes
- Next, take a kadhai or a cooking pot and add about 2 ½ tbsp of Mustard oil.
- Let the oil heat until it smokes a little.
- To this, add the marinated potato cubes and stir them nicely.
- Keep the flame on medium and cover the kadhai or cooking pot. Let the potatoes cook through nicely.
- Stir occasionally.
- After about 2 minutes, add half tsp salt to the potatoes. Cover and let it cook.
- When the potatoes are fried nicely and cooked through, take them out of the oil and transfer them to a plate.
Cook the Pui Michuri
- To the same kadhai, add oil if needed, and let it heat.
- When hot, add the panch phoron and dry red chilis (break them from the middle).
- Stir them for a few seconds and then add the pui michuri into the kadhai. Keep the flame on medium.
- Combine everything nicely and let the pui michuri cook.
- Cover and kadhai for about 3 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- After three minutes, remove the cover and add two green chilis (slit them from the middle).
- Cover again and let them cook.
Add the potatoes
- When the pui michuri is more than half cooked, add the potatoes to the kadhai.
- Stir everything nicely.
- To this, add half tsp of turmeric powder and red chili powder. Combine all the ingredients nicely. Everything will start to turn red.
- Now, add about half a cup of water and let them simmer.
- Add salt to taste and sugar (if you like the sweetness).
- Stir nicely from all the sides.
- When it starts to thicken, stir consistently and take a taste test.
- Add if anything is needed.
- When it is thick, turn off the flame. We need the dish to be dry but juicy. The water reduces to make a nice thick base for the recipe.
Garnish
- Transfer the dish to a serving bowl and garnish it with green chili.
That is all! The simple yet mouth-watering Pui Michuri is ready to be savored.
Serve it with steamed rice and delve into the rice flavors of this plain recipe. Pui Michuri is a side dish, albeit you can have an entire plate of rice just with this.
As it gets combined with the white rice, a vivid reddish-maroon color emerges, making it much more appetizing. Make this dish and share it with all the ones who have and have not tried it yet.
Happy Cooking!