Dim bhortaMashed eggs with mustard oil
Dim bhorta is one of the many bhortas (mashes) on the everyday Bangladeshi table, made in Dhaka and Sylhet homes on busy evenings or when the fridge holds little more than eggs. Hard-boiled eggs are mashed by hand with crisp fried onion, green chilli, coriander and a generous splash of pungent raw mustard oil, then eaten with steaming rice and dal. It is rich, sharp and spicy. The common mistake is soft-boiling the eggs; the yolks must be fully firm to mash properly, and fully set eggs are safest for everyone. Chef's tip: crush the green chilli and salt together with your fingertips before adding the eggs, so the heat spreads evenly through the mash. Use mustard oil sold for cooking; where bottles are labelled for external use only, buy a cold-pressed edible one.



