Tiny pieces of various vegetables, or even the peel, with panch phoron (the Bengali equivalent of garam masala) or whole spices.
Chhokka is a classic dish made with potatoes and pumpkin. These are cooked and added to bay leaves, fennel and mustard and onion seeds with red and green chillies and ginger which have ben roasted. Curds, sugar and seasoning are added, the whole is cooked and then garnished with coriander (US: cilantro) and cumin powder.
Gram dhal. Split chickpeas (US: garbanzo beans). Darker and smaller than the chickpeas generally available in the West.
Snake gourds are bright green, thin-skinned gourds which can grow as long as 2 meters (6 ft). Since they have a tendency to curl they can frequently be seen with rocks tied to them to keep them straight. They should be rubbed with salt to remove the downy surface of the skin and can then be cut open, the central core of seeds removed and then cubed or sliced for adding to stews and rasams. They do not have a great deal of flavour.
