If I would say bitter greens or leafy vegetables then most people generally understand that a leafy vegetable which is not sweet in taste. But here bitter means actually bitter. Many people even shocked by its bitterness, haha. Yes, there are such wonderful leafy vegetables which are truly bitter in taste. If you add those greens to any dish then the whole dish will be bitter in taste. Now you may ask who eat such leafy vegetables? Haha Is this not true? But Bengali people eat such 5 amazing shak (or saag) which are super bitter in taste. Being a Bengali I love to eat such leafy vegetable-based traditional dishes.
| 5 most bitter leafy vegetables (shak/saag) |
 Neem: Everybody knows that it is a super bitter plant. Not only that its extracts are used to make organic pesticide. But its leaves are consumed as a leafy vegetable in West Bengal, India as well as Bangladesh. It is used to make a delicious dish named neem begun. It may sound weird and yes, we Bengalis found it tasty during the summer season. It has many medicinal values too. |
 Brahmi : It is another super bitter green and again another medicinal plant. Brahmi plant has a lot of medicinal value. It is said juices of Brahmi is beneficial for the human brain. It improves memory power. But it is traditionally used as shak/saag (leafy vegetable) in West Bengal & Bangladesh. Brahmi stir fry & Brahmi begun are very popular traditional dishes. |
 Bitter gourd greens: You may raise your eyebrows after knowing that not just its fruit but bitter gourd greens are also used as food. In Bengali, those greens are often added to make a traditional dish “Shukto”. Did you ever try it? It is delicious as well as healthy. |
| Gima shak: It is found here & there in West Bengal. It is also called as carpetweed and it grows so rapidly and spread all over the ground like a carpet. But it has many medicinal values. Do you know that it is also called as bitter cumin plant? It is also used as a shak/saag (leafy greens). |
| Helencha: Most Bengali people tried this leafy green. Though it is bitter in taste but many people love this shak/saag. It is often used to make various traditional fish curries, stir fry, pakoda etc. Did you ever try helencha pakoda? It is simply awesome. It is also called as water cress leaves. It also has many medicinal values. |
Also read:
Food grain name in Hindi & English
Various types of millets name in Hindi & English
Indian spices name – Hindi & English
Various fruit names in Hindi from English
Sabji names in Hindi & Vegetable names in English
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