POTOLER NIRAMISH DORMA [PANEER STUFFED POINTED GOURD]

Pointed Gourd is the English for Potol / Parwal. Potoler Dorma is stuffed Pointed Gourd. Though I have prepared a vegetarian version with paneer stuffing, the most popular version among the Bengalis perhaps is with shrimps / prawn stuffing. Since my vegetarian friends have started believing I do not love them anymore, I had to win back their confidence. As a teen I hated vegetables, but these days love them. I feel like may be I had too much of non-veg throughout my life and my tastebuds are seeking change. 

My apathy towards vegetables made our mom sweat planning vegetarian recipes for her foodie daughter. Any veggie recipe at home had to be tasty, otherwise there was threatening of meal boycotts on an all vegetarian day. Remembering those days, a wave of guilt hits my mind I question myself, why did they pamper me? The answer may be hidden in the question why do I pamper mine so much?

I remember, one day in a week was an all vegetarian day at our home...... and that day was a black day for me. Back home from school / college, I would run to few of my friends' home to taste fish and chicken. That greed is of course the reason for my round shape, all my dreams of becoming a model remained unfulfilled, ha..ha...ha. Jokes apart, I think till date no one has seen a model with 5 feet height, why cut off my tongue?? Every Thursday was a veggie day at home, my husband being a childhood buddy, I used to visit their home, straight into his mother's kitchen. An innocent question like mashi / aunty what did you cook today? She would fetch me a big piece of fish with curry n rice. No question of strictness  as she was aunty then, yet to be mom-in-law.

I think before I cross all limits, I should go with the recipe. Truly, I wished to prepare a vegetarian version of Potoler Dorma for my vegetarian friends. The more popular non-vegetarian version shall come up some other day. The inclusion of paneer as stuffing in this particular recipe was not common in our family, I see the trend in the present day.

INGREDIENTS :

Potol [pointed gourd] : 8
Paneer [cottage cheese/chena] : 200 gm
Posto [poppy seed] : 1tbsp [use roasted sesame seed instead if you stay in Singapore or Dubai]
Tomato : 1 big
Onion : 1 big
Green Chilli : 2
Ginger Paste : 2tbsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Salt : As required
Cumin Powder : 1 tsp

Coriander Powder : 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds : 2 pinches
Bay Leaf : 1
Green Cardamom : 3
Cloves : 2
Cinnamon : 1inch stick one
Oil : 4 tbsp
Sugar : 1tsp

Ghee / Clarified Butter : 1 tsp


METHOD :

Wash, cut the two ends of the potols. Peel the skins keeping little gaps. With the edge of a knife take out the seeds of the potols. Let not tear them while doing it. This way you can see vacuums created inside them. Apply salt, turmeric powder, keep aside covered.

Wash posto in a strainer. With help of blender, make smooth paste of posto, seeds of potol, green chilli. Crumble the paneer with your hand. Slice the onion.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in wok. Temper with cumin seeds. Add sliced onions. As they turn golden brown, add  the paste. Keep stirring till it separates from oil. Add the crumbled paneer. Add little salt and turmeric.. Stir well for 3 to 4 minutes or until  most of water dries up. Switch off gas stove. Your filling is ready. Transfer to a bowl, let cool.

Fry pointed gourds in oil till they turn golden brown. Transfer to plate, let cool. Once the filling cools, stuff holes of the fried pointed gourds with the filling using back of a spoon.

Cut, deseed the tomato.Temper oil [at this stage we can add little more oil if required] with bay leaf, cinnamon, green cardamom, cumin seeds, cloves. As they release nice aroma, add the ginger paste. As the raw smell goes away, add the tomato pieces. Saute well. 

As tomato pieces melt, add cumin+coriander powder, chilli powder, salt, turmeric powder. Stir well till the oil separates from the gravy. Add a small tea cup water. Let the gravy boil for 4 minutes.

Add fried stuffed potols. Cook covered for another 2-3 minutes. Add sugar, ghee. Stir, switch off gas stove. The gravy would be thick. Serve it with steamed rice, goes good with roti!!