Ridge gourd and potato cooked with poppy seeds and other ingredients
This one is another authentic recipe from my place - if you need something high on fibre and also very tasty, then you must try this out. We do get the best vegetables in Winter and I had this item in my mind when I got ridge gourd from the market - looking at the freshness, I could refresh my memory for this item. Let me take you through the simple process of making this delicious item. And just to let you know, this is our authentic recipe - you will not find this in internet.
Wash the ridge gourd and peel of the skin, then cut into small pieces. Also cut some potatoes - if you love to mix it.
Here are the ingredients :
- Onion
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Red and Green Chillies
- Turmeric Powder
- Pancha Phutana - we use it in all fries - its just mix of five seeds - fenugreek, nigella, cumin seed, black mustard and fennel seed in equal parts - you can prepare it at home as well.
- Poppy seeds
- Peanut
- Oil of your choice - we use organic mustard oil - I am now convinced to use mustard oil for everything after using olive oil for several months because our cooking is not suitable for olive oil.
Put some oil and once it is hot, add Pancha Phutana followed by onion - once the onion turns brown add potato - put some turmeric powder ( we use it with everything).
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Fry the the potato till its half cooked and then add the ridge gourd - the reason is that the ridge gourd will cook faster. Cover them with a lid for 2-3 minutes, so that, they are almost boiled - ready to be eat. Then take them out and keep on a plate.
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Now make a fine paste (grind) of poppy seed, ginger, garlic, peanuts and green chilies - add more green chilies if you want it to be spicy. Put some oil in the pan and fry this paste in slow heat - you should get the authentic aroma once its cooked - don't forget to stir it often. Once it is ready, add the fried ridge gourd and potato that were kept aside. Mix them well and then add little water and then cover it with a lid and leave for 5 minutes - the spice gets thoroughly mixed with the ridge gourd and potato. And don't forget to add salt to your taste.
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Now add some Coriander leaves and it is ready to be served - you can eat this item with rice or roti ( indian flat bread), or paratha.
We had this served with Aloo paratha and sweet curd - almost a feast. Most people cook it all together but you won't get that authentic taste. And this is no less tasty than non-veg - in fact, I prefer the vegetarian items over non-veg, but my son is a fan of non-veg. The lady does the heavy lifting of taking care of all our tastes.
Do you know, we taste the raw ridge gourd to make sure, they are not bitter ? Because it will just spoil the entire effort, so better to be careful.
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