Farm duck cooked with mustard oil, ginger, garlic and a heavy hand of black pepper. A Sylheti specialty, distinguished from other duck curries by the use of black pepper and mustard oil.
Sylheti duck curry is a specialty of the Sylhet region in northeastern Bangladesh, where freshwater ponds and haors (seasonal wetlands) support a large duck-farming tradition. The curry is distinguished from other Bengali duck curries by its reliance on mustard oil and a heavy hand of black pepper (rather than the more common red chili), giving a warming, slightly numbing heat that is characteristic of Sylheti cooking. The duck is cut into pieces, marinated in turmeric and salt, then slow-cooked in mustard oil with a paste of onion, ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander and a generous tablespoon of freshly ground black pepper. The long cooking (about 1 hour) is essential to tenderise the duck, which is naturally tougher than chicken. Eaten with rice, the curry is a Sunday lunch specialty in Sylheti households.
Rich, deeply savoury duck in a thin, peppery gravy, the black pepper warming and slightly numbing, the mustard oil pungent. The duck is tender from the long cook, the flavour complex and distinctly Sylheti.
The technique is a long, covered braise with black pepper as the dominant spice. The duck is marinated in turmeric and salt for 30 minutes, then browned in mustard oil. A paste of onion, ginger and garlic is fried until golden, then cumin, coriander and a heavy dose of black pepper (about 1 tablespoon freshly ground per kilogram of duck) are added. Water is added and the duck simmered covered for about 1 hour until completely tender. The black pepper (not red chili) is what distinguishes Sylheti duck curry: it gives a warming, slightly numbing heat that is gentler and more aromatic than red chili. The gravy remains thin and is meant to be poured over rice.
Variations
Some add shatkora for a bitter note. A version with bamboo shoot is a tribal specialty.
On the Palate
Where Sylheti Duck Curry sits in the Bangladeshi flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
5 steps · 25 min
- 15 min
Marinate 1.5kg duck pieces in turmeric and salt for 30 minutes.
- 25 min
Brown in 4 tbsp mustard oil; remove.
- 36 min
Fry 2 onion paste, ginger-garlic paste, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander; add 1 tbsp ground black pepper.
Watch outGrind in a heavy hand of freshly cracked black pepper — pepper, not chili, is what defines this curry; its warm, gently numbing heat carries the whole dish.
- 48 min
Return the duck; add water to cover; simmer covered 1 hour until tender.
Watch outBraise covered about an hour until the duck is fully tender — duck is tougher than chicken, so check that it pulls easily before you stop.
- 54 min
Add salt; serve with rice.
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