English
বাংলা
The story
Satkora, also written shatkora and called hatkora in Sylheti, is a citrus that grows wild and in gardens along the hills of Sylhet, Jaintapur, Goainghat and the Jaflong area, and across the border in Assam and Meghalaya. The fruit is about the size of a small orange, green to yellow, with a fairly smooth, thick skin. Cut it open and there is very little juice; the pulp is pale, sour and bitter, and nobody eats it like an orange.
What Sylhet cooks want is the peel. The thick, fleshy rind is cut into wedges or strips and simmered with beef or mutton, the dish known as satkora beef, or with fish, dal and vegetables. It releases a sharp, perfumed bitterness that cuts through fat and makes the curry taste unmistakably of Sylhet. The pulp is usually scooped out and thrown away, or used sparingly for sourness. Satkora also goes into pickles, and households sun-dry strips of rind so they can cook with it out of season. The dish travelled with the Sylheti diaspora and is popular among British Bangladeshis too.
Demand has grown far beyond the region as tourists and other Bangladeshis discover satkora beef, and local production has not kept pace. Reporters in Sylhet note that much of the satkora sold in the city's markets now comes from India, especially around Eid-ul-Azha, when beef cooking peaks. The Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute has released a variety, BARI Satkara-1, to encourage more planting at home.
How to spot the real Sylhet satkora
Fresh satkora is round to slightly flattened, roughly six to seven centimetres across, with a thick, slightly bumpy rind that is deep green when young and turns yellowish as it ripens. It feels heavy and firm, and scratching the skin releases a strong, sharp citrus perfume quite different from lemon or malta. Cut one: the rind is thick and white-to-pale-yellow inside, and the small segments hold little juice. A thin-skinned, juicy fruit is a lime or orange, not satkora. Dried satkora should be leathery strips of rind that still smell clearly of citrus; musty, dark or mouldy strips are old. Satkora pickle should list the fruit as the main ingredient, not as a flavouring.
Buying tips
Fresh satkora is most plentiful in the early monsoon, roughly Jyaishtha to Ashar, though it is sold through much of the year, and prices rise before Eid-ul-Azha. In Sylhet it is often sold by the hali (four) or by the dozen, so check the unit. Ask the seller whether the fruit is grown in Sylhet or imported, how recently it was picked, and how firm it is; firm fruit with unbroken skin travels well for several days in a ventilated box. For larger quantities or long distances, dried rind or pickle is the safer choice.
Each shop on Midmart sets its own delivery charge, so buying satkora from one shop and beef masala from another means two deliveries and two charges. Midmart does not handle payment or courier arrangements; you settle both directly with the seller. Midmart cannot tell you where any fruit was grown, so ask the seller plainly.
Keeping it fresh
Whole satkora keeps for one to two weeks in a cool, airy place and somewhat longer in the fridge. To keep it for months, cut the rind into strips, discard the pulp and seeds, and either freeze the strips or sun-dry them until leathery and store them airtight. Soak dried strips briefly before cooking.
Find Sylhet satkora on Midmart
Shops from where it is made
No shop from Sylhet is on Midmart yet.
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