Many people feel that nobody enjoys eating dal and curry every day, so now and then they crave bharta or bhaji. Bharta has a special place among Bengali favourites: with a mash on the plate, a serving of hot rice goes down easily. For a change of taste, you can make a delicious bharta with yardlong beans (barbati) and shrimp. Served with hot rice, it needs no other dish.

Here is how to make yardlong bean and shrimp bharta at home.

Wash the shrimp well and rub them with salt and turmeric. Heat a little mustard oil in a pan, fry the shrimp and set them aside.

Cut the yardlong beans into small pieces, or chop them finely if you prefer. Steam the beans with a little salt, or fry them in a little oil if you like. In the same oil, fry chopped onion and garlic.

Put the fried shrimp, beans, fried onion and garlic and green chillies into a blender and blend well.

Next, heat mustard oil in a pan and add dried chillies to temper. Add the blended shrimp and bean mixture with a little salt to taste, and mix everything well.

Lower the heat and keep stirring the bharta for a while. When oil separates from the mixture and it comes away from the sides of the pan, the bharta is ready. Turn off the heat and serve the yardlong bean and shrimp bharta with hot rice.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.