Potol Posto, Parwal/ Pointed Gourd In Poppy Seed Paste

         When I was back in the US, I used to see this vegetable called as Potol/ Parwal/ Pointed Gourd at the Indian grocery stores, it looked similar to tindora/ kovakkai/ gherkins, but a little plumpy. I had no idea where to use this vegetable or how to cook it or how it tasted once cooked. Then after moving to Chennai, I didn't see it, but now in Bangalore, I am seeing this vegetable everywhere, but I still didn't buy it till a couple of weeks back. I had bought this Bengali cook book called Bangla Ranna, while browsing through it, I saw that this vegetable is widely used in Bengali cooking. I have tasted posto a couple of times, which is basically a vegetable dish, in which the chosen vegetable ( usually potato, potol and even ridge gourd ) is cooked in a poppy seeds gravy. I checked a couple of other Bengali food sites and then made this, reduced the amount of poppy seeds and of course I haven't used mustard oil. This dish goes very well with rice, even if you don't find or don't want to try parwal/ potol, try this curry once with the common potatoes..

Need To Have

• Potol/ Parwal/ Pointed Gourd - 8 pieces
• Nigella Seeds/ Onion Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Khus-khus, White Poppy Seeds - 2 tablespoons
• Green Chillies - 2
• Salt to taste

Method

          Peel the potols, as shown, leaving a little bit of skin here and there. Slice each into four pieces, mix them with the turmeric powder and salt and leave aside for about 10 minutes.

          Soak the khus-khus/ poppy seeds in a little hot water for about 10 to 20 minutes, then grind it, add the green chillies and grind it further into a smooth paste.

          Heat some oil, add the potol pieces and saute them on medium heat till they get some light brown spots on them, remove and keep.

          In the same pan, add little more oil, add the nigella seeds, when it starts sizzling, add the sauteed potol pieces and mix for a minute, then add the ground poppy seeds paste.

          Keep sauteing it till the raw smell of the poppy seeds goes away, for about 7 to 8 minutes. Then add about 1/2 cup water, cover and cook till the vegetable is completely done. The finally consistency can be like a wet-and-dry mixture or like a gravy.

Note
Usually the amount of poppy seeds is almost double the amount that I have given, but since we are not used to eating so much of it in a curry, I reduced it, also instead of adding whole green chillies, I ground it with the poppy seeds itself.

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Palak Paneer - 2, Spinach With Indian Cottage Cheese

          Though I am calling this post as Palak Paneer - 2, this is in fact, the first palak paneer that I used to do for my daughter. It's a very simple dish that does not use much spices or masalas. Back in the US, we get baby spinach packets, just wash and blanch them and use them and they taste very good in this dish, better than the regular spinach. This dish is ideal for a small group, because we are using only spinach puree here, no onions or tomatoes to give more volume, for a bigger group or party, I would recommend my other recipe here. I got this recipe from a cook book of Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, a delicious recipe with minimum ingredients and maximum flavor..

Need To Have

• Spinach/ Palak  - 1 big or 2 small bunches
• Paneer/ Indian Cottage Cheese cubes - 1 cup
• Green Chillies - 2
• Cumin Seeds/ Jeera - 1/2 teaspoon
• Garlic Cloves - 4-5, finely chopped
• Cream Cheese - 1 tablespoon (optional)

Recipe for home-made paneer here.

Method

          Remove the thick stems from the spinach, wash and add it to boiling water and immediately switch off. Remove it from the hot water, dip in cold water (I usually skip this step), drain and grind it with the 2 green chillies. I got 11/2 cup of spinach puree.

          Heat some oil, add the cumin seeds, when it starts to sizzle, add the garlic and saute till it turns golden. Then add the spinach puree and boil for 2 minutes.

          Then add the paneer cubes, mix gently and cook for 2 more minutes. Finally mix in the cream cheese, remove and serve it with rotis.

Note
Since I didn't have fresh cream , I used cream cheese.
I don't fry the paneer pieces before adding, it's up to you, you can add it as such or shallow fry and add.

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Beetroot Kootu, Beetroot Dal, Beets With Lentils

          Whenever I buy beets, I usually make a poriyal or use it along with other vegetables in a kurma or curry. I've made kootu with it long time back, but the taste was not that amazing, so I never did it after that. I made the kootu again, couple of weeks back, cooked beets along with some dal and this time, spiced it up with black pepper and the taste was awesome. I've noted that black pepper ( instead of dried red chillies ) goes well with vegetables that have a sweetish taste like carrots and beets. And also, I have done the seasoning with coconut oil which gives a wonderful flavor to this kootu. It tastes great with some plain rice and pappads..

Need To Have

• Chopped Beets - 11/2 cups
• Moong Dal/ Split And Husked Green Gram - 1/4 cup
• Grated Coconut - 1 tablespoon, packed
• Black Pepper - 1 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Urad Dal/ Husked Black Gram - 1 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 10
• Coconut Oil - 1 to 2 teaspoons
• Salt - to taste

Method

          Grind together the coconut, cumin seeds and black pepper, without adding any water, it'll be like a wet powder.

          Pressure cook the beets, moong dal along with the turmeric powder. Once all the pressure is released, open the pressure pan and add the powdered coconut mix and asafoetida and cook for a couple of minutes.

          Then heat some coconut oil in another pan, add the urad dal and mustard seeds, once it starts spluttering, add the curry leaves and remove, add this to the cooked beetroot and dal, mix well and serve it over some hot rice and enjoy.

Note
You can cook the beets and dal in a regular pan, the pressure pan or cooker saves you time.
You can do the seasoning with regular vegetable oil or canola or with ghee also, but coconut oil gives an awesome flavor.
Can make the kootu as thick or thin as you prefer, increase or decrease the pepper according to your spice level. 

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Zucchini Dal, Zucchini With Lentils

          After all the sundal and sweet recipes last week, I thought I'll post a simple dal recipe today. The same dal/ lentils, when cooked with different spices and a different vegetable gets an entirely new flavor and taste. For today's dal I have used tuvar dal/ split pigeon peas, zucchini and seasoned it with panch phoron. This is a very easy recipe, extremely flavorful  and it goes very well with both rice and rotis..

Need To Have

• Tuvar Dal/ Split Pigeon Peas - 1/3 cup
• Diced Zucchini - 11/2 cups, used 1 medium zucchini
• Tomato - 1 medium, chopped
• Grated Ginger - 1/2 teaspoon
• Panch Phoron - 11/4 teaspoon
• Crushed Red Chilly Flakes - 1 teaspoon
• Coriander Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 10
• Salt to taste

Panch Phoron : Take equal amounts of fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, onion seeds/ nigella seeds and cumin seeds.

Method

          Pressure cook the tuvar dal with water and 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder, once the pressure is released, mash the dal and keep. Heat some oil, add the panch phoron, when it starts spluttering, add the zucchini pieces and saute till you get light brown spots on it. Then add the crushed red chilly flakes, coriander powder and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder, mix it well, cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

          Then add the chopped tomato, cooked dal, grated ginger salt and some water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Garnish with the curry leaves, remove and serve it warm.

Note
Don't overcook the zucchini, it should retain it's shape and have a slight crunch to it.
You can use ghee/ clarified butter instead of oil for an extra flavor.
Use homemade coriander powder for nice flavor, also you can squeeze some lemon juice while mixing rice with the dal.

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Whole Moong And Mushroom Curry

          Whenever I cooked mushrooms, I have either sauteed it, or used it in combination with vegetables like baby corn, capsicum or potatoes, never have I tried it with some dal. I gave it a try, cooked it along with whole moong/ moong beans or green gram and some freshly ground masala paste. The curry turned out good and it went well with both rice and rotis..

Need To Have

• Whole Moong - 1/2 cup
• Button Mushrooms - 200 gms
• Tomato - 1 medium, chopped
• Onion - 1 medium, chopped
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 10-15

To Grind

• Coriander Seeds - 1 tablespoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Chopped Ginger - 2 teaspoons
• Tamarind - marble sized ball
• Dried Red Chillies - 5
• Grated Coconut - 1 tablespoon

Method

          Grind together all the ingredients given under ' to grind '. Pressure cook the whole moong beans.

          Heat some oil, add the mustard seeds, when it starts spluttering, add the onion and curry leaves, saute till the onions turn pink.

          Add the chopped mushrooms and saute for a minute, then add the chopped tomatoes and saute for another 2 minutes. Add turmeric powder, salt and a cup of water, cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the lid, add the cooked moong beans and the ground paste, some water and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes. Add some more curry leaves, remove and serve it warm with rice or rotis.

Note
You can make this curry as thick or thin as you want, add more or less water, reduce the moong beans.
Can make it as spicy as you want, increase or decrease the red chillies, or add some sliced green chillies along with the chopped onions.

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Spring Onion And Cabbage Kurma/Curry

          As I had written earlier, I have not cooked much with spring onions, except using it in fried rice and noodles. Only recently I have tried to use it in other dishes, this Spring Onion and Cabbage Kurma being one of them. Spring Onions pair very well with cabbage and the fennel seeds and coconut paste gives a nice flavor. This kurma goes very well with pilafs and rotis or even with some plain rice, try this if you like spring onions, you can also try out this dal/ lentils with spring onions..

Need To Have

• Chopped Spring Onions - 11/2 cups
• Shredded Cabbage - 11/2 cups
• Tomatoes - 2 medium
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Coriander Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Salt - to taste

To Grind

• Grated Coconut - 1 tablespoon
• Fennel Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Cashews - 2

Method

          Add the tomatoes to boiling water. When the skin starts splitting, remove cool, peel the skin and grind it.

          Grind together all the ingredients given under ' to grind '.

          Heat some oil, add the spring onions and saute for a minute. Then add the shredded cabbage, saute for another 5 minutes, till it's almost cooked.

          Add the tomato puree, turmeric, red chilly and coriander powders and salt and mix for 2 to 3 minutes. Now add the ground paste, 1 cup water, bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer it for 5 more minutes. Serve it warm, garnished with some spring onions ( green part only ).

Note
You can add some cooked peas or chickpeas to the kurma to make it more nutritious.

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Capsicum And Potato Kurma/ Curry With Coconut

          Kurma is a coconut based gravy, usually made with potatoes, cauliflower or a mixture of vegetables and it goes well with rotis, pilafs, idlis, dosas or even plain rice. It's a rich curry, but I try to make it a little lighter by reducing the quantity of coconut added and replacing it with some shallots. For today's kurma, though I have added potatoes, I have also added some capsicum which gives it a unique flavor..

Need To Have

• Capsicum - diced, big pieces, 11/2 cups
• Potatoes - Boiled, peeled and diced, 11/2 cups
• Tomato - 1 medium, diced into big pieces
• Coriander Powder - 2 teaspoons
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Garam Masala - 1/2 teaspoon
• Cinnamon - 1" piece
• Cloves - 2
• Curry Leaves - 10
• Chopped Coriander - 1 tableapoon
• Salt - to taste

To Grind

• Onion - 1 small
• Grated Coconut - 2 tablespoons
• Green Chillies - 2 or 3
• Fennel Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Cashews - 4
• Garlic - 4 cloves
• Chopped Ginger - 1 tablespoon

Method

           Grind together all the ingredients given under ' to grind ' into a smooth paste, adding a little water.

          Heat oil, add the cinnamon and cloves, when it starts sizzling, add the curry leaves and mix for 1/2 a minute. Now add the capsicum pieces and saute for 2 or 3 minutes. Then add the ground paste, turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt. Saute it well, till the raw smell of garlic and onion goes, if the paste sticks to the pan, sprinkle some water and keep sauteing, should take about 5 to 7 minutes.

          Now add the potatoes and tomatoes, mix once and add about 1/2 a cup of water, cover and cook for 3 minutes. Then remove the lid, mix in the garam masala and cook for a minute. Finally add the coriander leaves and switch off.

Note
Use only green capsicum for this kurma, the other colors might make the dish a little sweeter.
You can also add some white poppy seeds along with the other ingredients for the paste.
After adding the tomatoes, if you don't mix it too much and cook it after adding the water, the color of the kurma remains a nice yellow, instead of the orange color, also I have used only green chillies and no chilly powder for the same reason.
You can replace green chillies with red chilly powder if you want, but don't skip the coriander powder.
If you need a little more sourness, can add a little lemon juice at the end.
If you want a richer kurma, double the quantity of coconut and also add a tablespoon of curd while sauteing the paste.

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Mulaikeerai Kootu/ Amaranth Leaves With Lentils

          Both my husband and daughter love green leafy vegetables, so I make them at least 2 or 3 times a week. It'll be some kind of kootu or masiyal or sometimes a sambar or saute. When I saw this fresh bunch of Mulai Keerai, also known as Amaranth Leaves and Chinese Spinach, I had to pick it up, but this time I didn't want to make the regular kootu, wanted to try something slightly different. This kootu is a very easy one, no grinding required but still is very flavorful with the added ginger, goes very well with both rice and rotis..

Need To Have

• Amaranth Leaves - 5 cups, cleaned and chopped
• Tuvar Dal/ Split Pigeon Peas - 1/2 cup
• Onion - 1 medium chopped
• Tomato - 1 medium chopped
• Grated Ginger - 2 teaspoons
• Grated Coconut - 1 tablespoon
• Red Chilly Flakes - 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon
• Roasted Cumin Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Urad Dal/ Husked Black Gram - 1 teaspoon
• Salt - to taste

Method

          Pressure cook the tuvar dal with the 1/4 teaspoon turmeric, mash and keep. Cook the chopped spinach with salt and a little water till done.

          Heat some oil, add the urad dal, mustard seeds and cumin seeds, when it starts spluttering, add the onions and ginger, saute for about 2 minutes and add the tomatoes.

          Saute the tomatoes for a minute, add the coconut, 1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder, cumin powder, asafoetida and chilly flakes, keep sauteing till the tomatoes become mushy and everything comes together, switch off.

          Add the cooked dal to the cooked spinach, mix , then add the sauteed mixture, mix and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and serve it warm.

Note
While cooking the spinach, do not cover with a lid, cooking it uncovered will keep the amaranth leaves green.
You can replace amaranth leaves with spinach and do the same kootu.
You can replace the grated ginger with grated garlic for a garlicky flavor.

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Paneer Butter Masala/ Creamy Curry With Indian Cottage Cheese

          Paneer Butter Masala, a favorite of most kids, a rich creamy dish, and is sure to appear in most party menus. Paneer/ Indian Cottage Cheese cubes are cooked in a rich blend of spices and is garnished with kasuri methi/ dried fenugreek leaves and a dash of fresh cream, the resulting flavor is simply irresistible. Though the dish looks so rich and delicious, it's actually pretty easy to make it. You can make your own paneer ( the method here ) or use store bought ones, both works very well..

Need To Have

• Paneer Cubes - 11/2 cups
• Kasuri Methi - 2 tablespoons
• Fresh Cream - to garnish
• Oil & Butter - as needed
• Salt - to taste

To Grind

• Onion - 1 medium, chopped
• Tomatoes - 2 cups, chopped
• Chopped Ginger - 2 teaspoons
• Garlic - 5 small cloves
• Cashews - 2
• Golden Raisins - 6 small
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Red Chilly Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Coriander Powder - 2 teaspoons
• Cinnamon - 1" piece
• Cloves - 2
• Cardamom - 1
• Javentri - a small piece

Method

          Heat some oil and stir fry the paneer cubes, remove and drain to remove excess oil.

          For the paste, heat a little oil, add the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and javentri ( the orange flower like thing in the first picture). When it starts sizzling and the elaichi or cloves pop, add the onions, garlic and ginger and saute for about 2 minutes.

          Now add the tomatoes, saute still it starts turning mushy, then add the turmeric,chilly and coriander powders, mix for a minute, remove and cool.

          Grind this along with the cashews and raisins, now your paste is ready.

          Heat some butter and oil, add the ground paste and salt and saute it well for about 3 minutes, if it sticks, add a little water and keep sauteing.

          Once you get a nice flavor, add the paneer cubes, about  2 cups of water, kasuri methi, cover and cook for about 5 minutes. Then remove and add the fresh cream, serve it warm with some rotis or naan.

Note
Sometimes, store bought paneer turns a little rubbery when stir fried, to avoid this soak it in some warm milk after frying, till adding it to the curry.
Since it's paneer butter masala, I've added butter, but you can leave it also, it'll still taste good.
Kasuri Methi is available in all Indian stores.

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