
Palong Shak Ghonto is a comforting Bengali-style spinach and mixed vegetable curry made with pumpkin, potato, eggplant, chickpeas, and warm spices. It is lightly sweet, gently spiced, and perfect with steamed rice or roti.
Soak the spinach in plenty of water for 15 minutes to loosen any grit. Rinse several times, drain well, and separate the tender leaves from any tough stems.


Place the spinach and cooked chickpeas in a pan with a small pinch of salt. Cover and steam over medium heat for about 8 minutes, until the spinach wilts. Set aside.


Heat the neutral oil in a separate pan over medium-low heat. Add the dried red chilies, bay leaves, and panch phoron, and stir for a few seconds until fragrant.



Add the potato, eggplant, pumpkin, and green chili. Stir in the turmeric powder, cumin powder, and a little salt. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften.



Lightly squeeze excess water from the steamed spinach, then add the spinach and chickpeas to the vegetables. Mix gently and cook for 5 minutes so the flavors come together.

Add sugar to balance the bitterness of the greens, then continue cooking over low heat until the potato and pumpkin are tender. Adjust salt and sugar to taste.

Turn off the heat and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve warm with steamed rice, roti, or paratha.
Use cooked or canned chickpeas for this quick version; dried chickpeas must be soaked and cooked separately first. Keep the heat low after adding the vegetables so the spices do not burn and the pumpkin softens without turning mushy. If eggplant is unavailable, use zucchini or extra pumpkin.




