Cooch Behar Panta Bhaat with Shutki Bhorta

Name: Cooch Behar Panta Bhaat with Shutki Bhorta
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Bengali
Ingredients: 400 g Cooked rice; 80 g dried fish (shutki); 100 g Onion; 15 g Garlic; 4 piece dried red chilli; 30 ml mustard oil; 3 piece green chilli; 6 g Salt

Overnight-fermented rice soaked in water, eaten cold with a fiery mashed dried fish chutney — a farmer's breakfast from North Bengal's Cooch Behar villages.

🇮🇳India· West Bengal

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 15 min
Total: 30 min
Servings: 2
Difficulty: Medium
Calories: 310 kcal

Ingredients

0 of 8 gathered

Servings

400 g Cooked rice — leftover, soaked overnight in water
80 g dried fish (shutki) — cleaned
100 g Onion — chopped, divided
15 g Garlic — chopped
4 piece dried red chilli
30 ml mustard oil
3 piece green chilli — chopped, for garnish
6 g Salt — to taste

Equipment

•Earthen pot for soaking rice
•Mortar and pestle

Nutrition

Per serving, approximate

Calories: 310 kcal
fat: 8 g
carbs: 48 g
fibre: 2 g
protein: 18 g
calories: 310 kcal

Instructions

1
The night before, put leftover cooked rice into an earthen or steel pot. Cover completely with water and leave overnight at room temperature.
2
The next morning, toast the dried fish in a dry pan until crisp and fragrant. Let it cool.
3
Heat mustard oil in a small pan. Fry half the chopped onion, garlic and dried red chillies until golden.
4
Crush the roasted dried fish and the fried onion mixture in a mortar and pestle into a rough mash.
5
Stir the remaining raw chopped onion, green chilli and salt into the fish to make the shutki bhorta (mashed dried fish).
6
Pour off some excess water from the fermented rice if it is too watery, keeping the rice moist.
7
Serve the fermented rice topped with raw onion and a green chilli. Add a generous spoonful of shutki bhorta on the side.
8
Eat straight away, mixing the bhorta into the rice bite by bite.

Chef's tips

Ferment the rice for at least 8–10 hours in a warm climate for the proper mild sour tang; in cooler weather it may need longer. Roasting the dried fish well before pounding removes excess pungency and adds a smoky note.