Spiced pumpkin and tamarind eggplant: cosy Bengali recipes from Kishwar Chowdhury Kishwar Chowdhury, a MasterChef alumna, presents two Bengali recipes suitable for winter: Mishti kumra bhaja (pumpkin with nigella) and Achari begun (pickled tangy eggplant). Both dishes highlight the nuanced use of spices to enhance vegetables, offering a taste of traditional Bengali home cooking. The article also explains the essential Bengali spice blend, paanch phoron, used in the eggplant recipe.

• Kishwar Chowdhury shares two Bengali recipes: Mishti kumra bhaja and Achari begun.
• Mishti kumra bhaja features pumpkin cooked with nigella seeds, onion, garlic, turmeric, and green chillies.
• Achari begun is a tangy and spicy eggplant dish inspired by Bengali pickles, utilizing a pickling spice blend.
• The eggplant recipe involves a two-step cooking process: initial cooking until silky, followed by soaking in a spiced sauce.
• Paanch phoron, a five-seed Bengali spice blend (fennel, cumin, mustard, nigella, fenugreek), is explained and used in the Achari begun.
• The recipes emphasize the Bengali culinary principle of using a single spice to accentuate produce.