Aloo Aur Parwal Ka Masala - Potato & Pointed Gourd in Thick Gravy

I have to confess that my husband, Reju was never huge on vegetarian food. I have always been a great fan of veggie food and lately Reju has joined me too. But the sad part is I do not have too many veggie dishes to my credit and thus I'm on a mission to experiment with new veggie delights!

Last week was one filled with great fun, lovely get-togethers with cousins and family. And of course there was loads and loads of eating too. Today's recipe is an attempt at recreating a yummy veggie dish I tasted at my aunt's place during that fun get-together. The minute I tasted it, I had decided that I was definitely going to try making it soon. I'm sure many of you have heard about the vegetable, Parwal (Potol). Well I had heard about it but had never tasted it before. It was my first time, and I have to say, I really enjoyed the flavor.

Anyway, the experiment that comes close to achieving the desired result is as in the recipe that follows. This veggie dish cooked in a delectable masala is sure to become a great hit. It is simple and can be cooked in minutes. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Pointed Gourd (peeled, deseeded & diced)- 8 to 10 (refer notes)

Potato (diced) - 3 (medium)

Onion (1 onion diced & 2 ground to a fine paste) - 3 (medium)

Ginger & Garlic paste - 1 1/2 tsp

Tomato (finely chopped) - 1 (medium)

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 tsp (adjust as per spice tolerance)

Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Bay leaf - 1

Sugar - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Coriander leaves

Method

Peel, deseed and dice the parwal into small cubes and keep aside. Peel and boil the potatoes and cut into small chunks and keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok, add the sliced onion and fry till onions turn golden brown. Keep aside. In the same wok, fry the diced parwal till it turns golden brown. Once browned, remove and keep aside.

In the same wok, add a little more oil and add bay leaf and splutter cumin seeds. Saut'e for a few seconds. Add the onion paste and saut'e for 5 minutes. Then add ginger & garlic paste and saut'e till raw smell disappears. Add the tomatoes and saut'e till tomato turns soft and oil separates. (approx 5 minutes) Once the tomato turns soft, add turmeric powder, kashmiri chilli powder, coriander powder, salt and sugar. Combine well. Now add the fried parwal and boiled potatoes to it and stir thoroughly till the masala coats the vegetable well. Pour 1 cup water into this mixture. Cover and cook till veggies are done and gravy starts becoming thick. Once the gravy starts becoming thick, add the fried onions and sprinkle garam masala onto it. Mix well and add freshly chopped coriander leaves into it. Switch off the flame and keep closed for 10 minutes. Serve hot with rotis/chapathis.

Notes:

1. It isn't compulsory to deseed the parwal, you do not have to if you prefer it that way.

2. Make sure the gravy is a semi-thick consistency.

3. You can also substitute parwal with other veggies like cauliflower etc...