Got bored of regular Patol recipe, so experimented a bit with some 'til bata' or sesame seed paste while cooking patol and the outcome is amazing.
Ingredients
- Patol or Parwal - 10
- Onion - 1, chopped
- Sesame seed paste - 1 tbsp
- Curd - 1 tbsp
- Ginger Paste - 1 tsp
- Green chilli paste - as per taste
- Salt, sugar, Turmeric
- Kalo jeera / Kalonji seeds - a pinch
- Mustard Oil
- Garam masala powder - a pinch
- Coriander leaves for garnishing
Wash and scrub the patol thoroughly. Make a slit at both ends. Lightly fry the patol with a pinch of salt and turmeric and keep aside.
Add kalo jeera / kalonji seeds in oil. Then add the chopped onion and fry a little.
Make a mixture of sesame seed paste, curd, green chilli paste and ginger paste with half cup of water and then add it on top of fried onions.
Fry the masala till oil separates. Then add a cup of hot water and add the parwals. Let it get cooked.
When parwals are almost cooked, add a spoonful of sugar. adjust the salt, if required. When gravy thickens, sprinkle garam masala powder and remove from heat.
Enjoy with plain rice.
This is a very traditional bengali veg recipe prepared with gobindobhog chal. Very easy yet palatable, there is a gravy version too, but I used to make it dry, where the portion of rice is comparatively more than the gravy version. It tastes almost like a pulao, you can have it with some side dish or of its own.
Ingredients
- Large potol or pointed gourd - 8 - 10
- Ginger Paste - 1 tbsp
- Cumin powder - 2 tsp
- Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
- Green Chilli - 3
- Tomato - 1, chopped
- Salt, Sugar, Turmeric
- Whole cumin seeds - 1 tsp
- Whole Garam masala - 2 each
- Bay leaves - 3
- Ghee
- Gobindabhog / Aromatic rice - 3/4 cup
- Kishmish - 2 tbsp
Keep the potol whole, peel off the skin and slightly slit them from the top and bottom. Fry them till golden brown.
Take them out of the kadai. Add 1 tbsp ghee to the kadai. Add in the whole spices for the tempering. Then add a paste of cumin powder, turmeric, red chilli powder, tomato and ginger. Fry well.
Add the washed and dried rice (gobindobhog, or basmati) and the kishmish or raisin.
Add the fried potol. Add slit green chilli.Add enough water for the rice to get cooked. The amount of water should be such that the water will be completely get soaked into the rice when the cooking is done.
Once the rice is done add sugar. The dish is on the sweeter side so you can be reasonably liberal with your sugar.Sprinkle garam masala powder to it. Take it off from the heat and add one more tbsp of ghee.
Serve your Patol Polao hot with vegetable raita.
A very traditional recipe, a regular in Bengali's kitchen during summer days. Here is my version.
Ingredients
- Patol, Parwal, Pointed Gourd - 10
- Thick Curd - 3 tbsp
- Tomato Puree - 1 tsp
- Ginger Paste - 1 tbsp
- Onion Paste - 2 onions
- Whole garam masala - 2 each
- Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
- Bayleaf - 2
- Green chilli - 5-6
- Kashmiri Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
- Coriander Powder - 1 heaped tsp
- Salt, Turmeric, Sugar - as required
- Maida / all purpose flour - 1 tbsp
Scrape the parwals lightly and make a slit on either side. Marinate with salt and turmeric. Fry till golden and keep aside.
Add some more oil to the pan and add a tsp of sugar. When it caramelises, add bayleaf and whole garam masala. Next add the onion paste and fry well. Add half of the ginger paste along with chopped green chilli and fry till it turns golden brown.
In a cup, add all he ground masalas with half cup of water. Let it soak for 5 minutes. You can do it before you start frying the pointed gourd. Add this masala water to the onions etc. in the pan and fry well.
Add the tomato puree and fry till oil comes out. Mix the curd with 1 tbsp of maida / all purpose flour. This is to ensure that the curd doesnot curdle once added to the heat. Add the curd and mix really well with the masala. Fry for 2 more minutes.
Add a cup of hot water and then add the fried patol/parwal/ pointed gourd to the gravy.
Cook till the patols are done. Adjust the seasoning. The taste should be a bit on the sweet side, so adjust the sugar quantity accordingly.
Once the gravy thickens, remove from heat after adding the garam masala powder.
Serve with rice of Roti / Paratha.
Potal er Dorma or stuffed pointed gourd is a very traditional Bengali Recipe where Patol or Parwal or Pointed Gourd is stuffed with fish, meat or for its vegetarian version, with paneer or cottage cheese. People use prepared lentil paste too as a stuffing. This dish can be used as an appetizer or as a curry dish. I made it as a curry but with a thick gravy made out of curd and other masalas. This dish is known as 'Pur Bhora Doi Patol' too. With 'Poila Baishakh' or Bengali New Year just round the corner, it is the ideal time to have this all time favorite 'Patol er Dorma' .
Ingredients
- Patol / Pointed Gourd - 10
- Home made Paneer - 1 cup, grated
- Onion - 1, chopped
- Tomato - 1,
- Green Chilli - 2
- Kishmish / raisin - 1-2 tbsp
- Onion Paste - 1 tbsp
- Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
- Kashmiri chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
- Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
- Curd - 3 tbsp
- Salt, Sugar, Turmeric - as required
Scrape the body of the patols, cut both the top of the sides and scoop out the seeds from one side. This should be done very carefully so that the pointed gourd case remains intact.
Sprinkle some salt and turmeric and fry the Patols well.
To make the stuffing, fry the chopped onion with chopped green chilli till golden brown, then add the tomatoes and fry till they are mashed.
Add the scraped inner portion of the patol and fry till oil come out. Now add the crumbled paneer and mix well. Add some soaked raisin or kishmish and fry till the mixture is completely dry.
Your stuffing is ready. Adjust the salt and sugar. The stuffing should have a sweet note, so adjust the sugar accordingly.
Cool the mixture and stuff the parwal cases with this stuffing.
To make the gravy, fry the onion paste, after some time add ginger and garlic paste.
Add kashmiri chilli powder, garam masala powder, turmeric powder mixed in 1/2 cup water and fry well till water evaporates and oil comes out.
Add the beaten curd with some water with bit of salt and sugar.
When it comes to a boil, add the stuffed pointed gourd and lower the heat. Cook it on slow heat till the gravy thickens and patol is cooked through.
Adjust the seasoning and remove from heat. Serve with plain rice.
Sending this entry to the event 'Poila Baishakh with Veg - Bengali Dishes' organised by 'Kolkata Food Bloggers'.
Not a very common recipe indeed, however, I got this while browsing through my collection of cookbooks and decided to give it a try.
Ingredients
- Patol/Pointed Gourd - 10-12,
- Paneer - 200 gms
- Bay leaf - 2-3
- Cumin powder - 2 tbsp
- Whole garam masala - 3 each
- Ghee - 1 tsp
- Methi / Fenugreek seeds - a pinch
- Green chilli - 4
- Ginger paste - 1 tsp
- Mashed Paneer - 2 tbsp
- Whole red chilli - 2
- Sugar - 1 tsp
- Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 tsp
- Salt and turmeric - as required
Lightly sauté the paneer cubes in little water. Now add Patol into the same oil and fry lightly with a pinch of salt and turmeric.
Add oil and ghee on the same pan. When it is hot, add the methi / fenugreek seeds. Now add the bayleaf and whole garam masala.
When it crackles, add the cumin powder and mashed paneer. Lower the heat and add turmeric and red chilli powder as well. Now fry the masalas well with a sprinkle of water if necessary. Add chopped green chilli as well.
When spice mix releases the aroma, add the fried patol and mix well. Now add 1 and 1/2 cup of hot water and cook covered for 5 - 7 minutes over high heat or till the patol is almost cooked.
Add the fried paneer pieces and boil for 2 - 3 minutes. Adjust the seasoning. Add a tsp of sugar and mix well with the gravy. The gravy will thicken because of the mashed paneer and will impart a unique taste to the curry. Enjoy with roti or parota.
