Potol / Parwal dum - A delicious Vegan Pointed Gourd Curry

Summer has come and Parwal/ Parval/ Patal started appearing in the market. I was contemplating to cook some side dish for my blog but never thought of what happened next. I was preparing for Alur dum, a traditional Bengali side dish but when the masala was ready I found with disdain that most of the potatoes are rotten. I was angry with my husband for irresponsibly selecting the potatoes but he was in office and I have to cook for the day. I had some Parwal in my refrigerator and thought of cooking potoler dum with them. The preparation turned out to be yummy and I decided to present the same in my blog. Here it is:-

Preparation Time: - 10 min

Cooking Time: - 35~40 min

Servings: - 2~3 persons

Ingredients:-

1. 8 pieces of Parwal
2. 2 Bay leaves
3. 1 star Anise (optional)
4. 2 medium sized Tomato
5. 1 ½ tsp Cumin seeds
6. ½ tsp Asafetida (Hing)
7. 1 tsp Kasmiri Red Chilli (You can have more according to your taste)
8. ¼ cup curd/ yogurt
9. 1 ½ tbsp ginger paste. You can smash ginger or can use the paste available in market.
10. ½ tsp Turmeric powder
11. 1 tsp coriander powder
12. ½ tsp Bhaja Masala
13. 2 green chili slit horizontally
14. Sugar and salt to taste
15. 7~8 tbsp mustard + vegetable oil ( If you want to cook the authentic Bengali way then use Mustard oil but you can use any vegetable oil also)
16. 2 tsp Garam Masala
17. 2 ½ tsp Ghee

Preparation:- 

1. Peel the Patal as shown in the picture and keep aside.
   
2. In a bowl make a paste of Curd/Yogurt with coriander powder, little bit of sugar and bhaja masala. Beat it nicely. Keep aside.
   
3. Heat 5 tbsp oil ( 1:1 mustard oil and sunflower oil) in non-stick kadai and shallow fry the Parwal with Kashmiri red mirch powder, salt. Keep aside.
   
4. Pour the rest of oil in same proportion in the same kadai and heat it in high flame.
5. Now add bay leaves, green chili, Anise, Asafetida and cumin seeds.
   
6. When the cumin seeds splutter add ginger paste, tomatoes, salt and turmeric powder. Sauté for sometime.
   
7. Add the shallow fried Parwal and stir for a minute or so.
   
8. Pour the curd mixture and continue cooking. When the oil starts separating from the mixture and the whole thing becomes dry add about ½ cup of water.
   
9. Cover the kadai and continue cooking for about 10 min. Intermittently remove the cover and stir so that it does not get sticky in the bottom.
   
10. Check if the parwal is cooked fully when the gravy becomes thick.
11. If not, you may need to sprinkle little bit of water until it is done.
12. Add the ghee and garam masala, sauté for 1 min and switch off the flame.

Now this mouth watering dish is ready. Garnish with coriander leaves and green chili.

This one is a side dish for rice as well as Roti / Paratha.

As always please feel free to comment, criticize and seek if any help is required. I am all ears.