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Saturday, May 3, 2008

Potol Kumror Ghainte and my Pride Possession

My Pride Possession - Masala Box



This is my pride possession in kitchen, my moshlar Dibe or Masala Box .This is very handy for me while preparing and cooking meals .There is Kalounji or Kalo jeera or Nigella seeds , Cumin seeds, Phanch phoron ( a spice mix of cumin seeds, fennel seeds, Fenugreek seeds and Nigella seeds ) and of course there is turmeric powder , red pepper powder and occasionally it will have dried red pepper powder and Tej patta ( Bay leaf ) .



Potol Kumror Ghainte

Well I remember my mom making aloo potoler Dalna for dinner and we used to have it with rotis , Potol is a quite famous vegetable in Bengali Cuisine , in a typical Bengali lunch potol Bhaja ( Deep fried Parwal which is marinated with salt and turmeric powder) is accompanied with Dals .Then there is Potol diye Macher Jhol and so on …


Parwal is Trichosanthes dioca , belonging to cucurbitacea family.Mainly grown in eastern part of India, It is also known as Pointed gourd or Wax gourd as well , is high in water content and that’s so good during summers as its is easy to cook and easy to digest. Here is a simple recipe for potoler torkari or Ghainte what ever you feel is good to hear, choice is yours.


Potol Kumror Ghainte
Recipe Requirements

Potol/Parwal – 6
Cut the two ends of potol and peel the skin at ½ inch while let the other part of peel intact ., This way it gets 3 marks along the body, now cut rounds of ½ inch .
Kumro ( pumpkin) -10 -15 pieces cut into cubes, If using young Komro let the skin remain as it will be bright green color indicating the skin is fresh and young, If you get little old one the skin will be dull brown in color indicating the Komro is old and its better to chop off the skin , this one will be more sweet in taste .
Aloo ( potato )- 2 medium size potato cut into cubes, If the skin is paper thin let the skin remain ,its more pleasurable to eat potato with skin as the skin is high in mineral content.
Tempering and Flavoring
1 tsp of panch phoron
2 tsp of fresh grated ginger
1 tsp of turmeric powder
1tsp of red pepper powder
1 tsp of salt
1tsp of sugar
3 tbs of mustard oil
½ cup of water
Method
Heat up kadai and add oil, fry the potol pieces first till slightly brown. Take out in a separate bowl.
Add more oil, temper it with panch phoron ,ginger , add potatoes and komro , fry them at low .
Add salt , sugar , turmeric powder, red pepper powder and fry . Tip – whenever you prepare komro always add sugar in the curries , it balances the flavor of curry .

Add the fried potol /parwal , add ½ cup of water and then cover and cook for 10 mints .
Open the cover and with the help of spatula / Khunti slightly cut or press the potatoes and komro to a uniform mushy texture.
Serve with rice or roti .

Happy Cooking .

12 comments:

  1. Oh, what a lovely combination of veggies there! Must taste wonderful!

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  2. I feel the same way about my masala dabba too.:D
    I would feel so lost in the kitchen without it.

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  3. Jaya,

    Thants so much for visiting, I would not have found your beatiful blog and treasure trove of bengali recipes otherwise.

    Rinku

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  4. So good to be here again! Thanks for the lovely comment on my blog.
    That sabzi looks wonderful....how different from the everyday ones!

    hugs,trupti

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  5. Trupti,
    this subzi is a must for us for our dinner , while I always repeat this once every week , still it taste always yum...
    Its a pleasure having u here...

    Dear CC
    welcome here , and like u I also share the same passion for Bengali Dishes...LOL...

    TBC,
    its just a small thing in our kitchen , but the use is immense , so hany and useful is our masala box ..hugs

    Vani,
    yes it taste great specially with summer here , this combo of veggies is easy to cook and light on tummy ...LOL
    Thank you dear Ladies for coming here ..

    hugs and smiles
    jaya

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  6. I have 3 of those spice boxes,all filled and ready to go all the time! What do we do without them?:D
    Love to say "Moshlar Dibe"!
    Parwal, I get only frozen ones here, bit stringy but better than nothing. Aloo Parwal dish looks yum!:)

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  7. Potol Kumro...dekhleo bhalo lagche :) Ekhane frozen potol, moteo bhalo lage na khete.
    Tomader to gorom bhalo poreche, tai na ?

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  8. Asha,
    its amazing u have 3 boxes , wish I can peek into them and know the secrets of yummy dishes u prepare for your family ..
    when you have no choice except to use frozen , its ok , but its a way too different with fresh veggies ....

    Sandeepa,
    Frozen potol ekdom khete para jaye na , aamra jokhon US e chilaam , aamra o frozen hi khetaam , atleast KOlkata e eshe ekhon fresh tori -torkari to payi ,we get Daily fresh veggies from our local market ( tumi bhalo bhabe jaano ki rokom hoye )and cooking with them as well...
    its very hot here and humid also ..
    hugs and smiles
    jaya

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  9. "Potol Kumror Ghainte" I kept repeating for 20 times! I like saying it..hehehe I wish I could learn Bengali..I know only choicest words...like 'Ami Bangla Jani Na' heheheh and of course the famous 'Ami Tomake Bhalobashi '!! ;)

    Loved the recipe ..bookmarked! Have to make it at least to scare my hubby with its name :)

    As for ur query for the raspeberry jam - U can use white sugar too...I jus use it for healthier purpose..its not necc :)

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  10. Sagari,
    thanks dear

    DK,
    u are soo funny ......LOL.. and 20 times , wow! ..
    I kept laughing reading ur comment , thanks for making my day bright ...
    and Thanks a lot for the tip ...
    hugs and smiles
    jaya

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  11. Yay!! Finally a place to find authentic bangla ranna recipe. Its been ages since I have eaten potol bhaja. Thank you sooo much for posting these yummy bangla recipes. Ghonto, labda, shukto, bhoger khichudi are some of the recipes I have been looking for.
    Lots of hugs to you Jaya...:)

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