zucchini bhaji

leah | 04.26.2020

i was gonna post this as a photo recipe on twitter but it felt narcissistic so i'm doing it here instead, which still feels narcissistic.

a bhaji is a bengali vegetable stir fry. if you knew me in college, i probably made you eat cabbage bhaji at least once. the way i make it is super simple so you probably won't like it unless you already like eating vegetables.

ingredients:

• some kind of vegetable. i used two small zucchini this time, cut into matchsticks. cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, etc are all good options.
• 1/4 tsp turmeric. this is not optional. if you don't have turmeric, make a different recipe.
• some kind of chile. i either use a whole serrano split down the length (but still attached at the stem) or a whole dried chile. these ones are from the chinese grocery, i have no idea what they are. red pepper flakes or sliced fresh jalapeno would also be fine, i bet.
• optional: one clove of garlic, lightly crushed with the side of a knife
• optional: 1 tsp panch phoron (bengali 5 spice). i skip this about half the time, so yeah, very optional.
• salt, maybe 1/2 tsp? depends on how much vegetables you're using.
• at least 2-3 tbsp cooking oil. i use plain vegetable or canola oil. don't skimp.

start by heating the oil in a pan. i use a 10 inch cast iron but it doesn't matter. add the panch phoron to the hot oil if using and wait for the mustard seeds to start popping. toss in the garlic, chile, and turmeric and toss that around for 30 seconds. add the vegetables and salt and mix.

for heartier vegetables, cook covered for ~5 min (depending on how big you cut them) then finish uncovered to let the excess water evaporate. zucchini doesn't take long so i just cooked them uncovered for 2-3 min. that's it. eat with white rice or some kind of roti.

oh and if it wasn't clear, this is a side dish! for a real bengali meal you'll have to cook like 4 more things.