Pui Shak Ghonto is a Bangladeshi leafy vegetable dish — pui shak (Malabar spinach, a mucilaginous green unique to South Asian cooking) simmered with lentils, coconut, and shrimp into a thick, nutritious, comforting mash. It is the everyday vegetable dish of Bangladeshi homes, the food that connects the garden to the table.
Pui Shak Ghonto is a quintessential Bangladeshi vegetable dish. Pui shak (Malabar spinach, Basella alba) is a climbing leafy green that grows in every Bangladeshi backyard — it is mucilaginous (slightly slimy when cooked, like okra), which makes it uniquely suited to the ghonto (mashed) style of cooking. The greens are simmered with moong dal (split mung beans), grated coconut, and tiny dried shrimp (for umami), then mashed together into a thick, comforting dish. It is everyday home food, not a restaurant dish — the food that every Bangladeshi grew up eating.
A bowl of dark green, thick, slightly mucilaginous mash with flecks of yellow dal and white coconut. The pui shak is earthy and slightly slippery; the dal adds substance; the coconut adds sweetness; the dried shrimp add a savory depth. It is the most homely, most comforting vegetable dish in Bangladesh.
The pui shak must be cooked until completely soft (it releases its mucilage, which thickens the dish). The moong dal is cooked separately until soft, then combined. The dried shrimp (if used) are soaked, then cooked with the greens. The coconut is added near the end. The whole is mashed together (ghonto means 'mixed/mashed'). Panch phoron (five-spice) is the traditional tempering.
Variations
Some omit the shrimp (vegetarian); some add pumpkin; some use different dal; the consistency varies.
On the Palate
Where Pui Shak Ghonto sits in the Bangladeshi flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
9 steps · 25 min active + 20 min waiting
- 15 min
Wash 300 g pui shak (Malabar spinach) leaves and stems; chop coarse.
- 220 min
Boil 100 g moong dal in 300 ml water 20 minutes until soft.
- 33 min
In a pan, heat 2 tbsp oil; add 1 tsp panch phoron; let it sizzle.
Watch outLet the panch phoron sizzle and turn fragrant in the hot oil before anything else goes in — that bloom is the dish's aroma base, but a shade too far and the seeds burn bitter.
- 43 min
Add 1 diced onion, 2 minced garlic cloves, and 2 chopped green chilies; cook 3 minutes.
- 55 min
Add the pui shak; cook 5 minutes until wilted.
Watch outCook the pui shak right down until fully soft and it releases its slippery mucilage — that natural slime is what thickens and binds the ghonto.
- 63 min
Add the cooked dal, 50 g grated coconut, and 30 g soaked dried shrimp.
- 710 min
Simmer 10 minutes, mashing lightly.
- 81 min
Season with salt and turmeric.
- 91 min
Serve with rice.
