Labra | লাবড়া

Ingredients

Method

1. 1

   Cut all vegetables into medium-sized cooking pieces. Soak the thor in turmeric water. Keep the fresh coconut pieces ready.

2. 2

   Heat mustard oil in a kadai. Lightly fry the eggplant until golden and remove. Then lightly fry the raw banana and remove.

3. 3

   In the same kadai, add dried red chillies, bay leaves and panch phoron. Let the tempering become aromatic.

4. 4

   Add potato and sweet potato and fry for about 1½–2 minutes. Add thor and cook for another 2–3 minutes.

5. 5

   Add ginger paste and slit green chillies. Cook until the raw smell of the ginger disappears.

6. 6

   Add sweet pumpkin, raw papaya and a little cauliflower. Do not add salt yet. Cover and cook for about 8–9 minutes.

7. 7

   Add radish, pointed gourd, yardlong beans and green peas. Add salt and turmeric. Cover and cook for another 5–6 minutes.

8. 8

   Add 2–3 tablespoons of fresh coconut pieces and cook for another 2–3 minutes.

9. 9

   If there is excess moisture, add ½ teaspoon maida. Add another ¼–½ teaspoon only if necessary. The final Labra should have very little to no visible liquid.

10. 10

    Add the previously fried eggplant and raw banana. Gently mix and cook for another 2–3 minutes.

11. 11

    For the bhaja masala, dry-roast the dried red chillies, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, whole coriander and whole cumin until fragrant. Cool and grind into a powder.

12. 12

    Switch off the heat. Add the prepared bhaja masala and gently mix. Cover and rest for 2–3 minutes.

    Final Labra

    The finished Labra should be dry-style, thick and well coated with masala, with very little to no visible liquid. The vegetables should remain individually identifiable and retain their shape as much as possible.

    The Labra should not be watery, gravy-like or semi-gravy. It should be a thick, dry-style Bengali Labra with the masala coating the vegetables.