I am still working with the beets that I bought from the farmers’ market last Saturday. My focus this time was on the beet greens, which I have always thrown away until yesterday. I read online that beet greens are packed with vitamins A, B6, C and K along with antioxidants and fibre.

So I chopped the greens, stem and all, and sautéed it in olive oil that was flavored with a grated garlic clove and hot green chili. I added salt along with two teaspoons of ground poppy seeds and a teaspoon of ground mustard seeds. My husband’s discarded Krups coffee grinder always comes in handy when I need to grind spices. 

I cooked this for a while and added about half a cup of water during the process. Once the water evaporated I turned the stove off and let it cool. Then I blended the concoction in my mini food chopper. I served this with basmati rice; this experimental recipe is a keeper.

The use of shorshe (mustard)-posto (poppy) combo in a recipe is unique to Bengali cooking, I think .The addition of mustard introduced a distinctive pungent taste –– highly desirable to a Bengali palate –– to the greens. The use of poppy seeds gave the dish a creamy texture and of course it had that gorgeous ruby color from the stems.