Potoler Dolma/Stuffed Pointed gourd...make it Non-Veg or Veg

Potoler Dolma…Stuffed Pointed Gourd, Bong ishtyle!!...sooooo, I had promised myself 5 recipes for Bong week and posted 6!! and just when I thought I was done I realized I couldn't go out on a 'chilkha' recipe!!...the plating and lighting almost didn't make this one happen (finished cooking this at 6:30 p.m and then rushed to make the ‘daylight’)…but that won't stop me!! And now, we can officially close this week…

Potoler Dolma (Stuffed Pointed Gourd)

Ingredients:

• Potol/Parwal/Pointed Gourd, 12
• Oil, ¾ cup

For the stuffing:

• For Non-Veg option: Mutton Keema/Minced Meat or Rohu Fish or Small prawns, 500 gms
• For Veg option: Potatoes or Indian Cottage Cheese or a mix of both
• Onions, finely sliced, 350gms
• Fresh Ginger, paste, 1 tsp for the fish/prawn, 2 tsp for mutton
• Fresh garlic cloves, 3-4
• Red chili powder, 2 tsp or to taste
• Green chilies, finely chopped, 2
• Turmeric powder, 1 tsp
• Bengali Garam masala powder, ¾ tsp (refer to notes)
• Salt, to taste

For the gravy:

• Onion, paste, 5 heaped tbsp
• Bayleaves, 2
• Ginger paste, ½ tsp
• Red chili powder, ¾ tsp or to taste
• Turmeric powder, ½ tsp
• Bengali Garam masala powder, ¾ tsp
• Salt, to taste

Instructions:

Wash and clean the potols. Very lightly scrape the potols if you want or can use as is. Cut off the tips from both ends.  Scoop out the seeds from one end without breaking/damaging the other end - I use the handle of a teaspoon to do this. (Don’t discard the seeds, refer to notes).

Rub a little salt on the inside and outside of the potols and keep them aside for 10 minutes.

Heat half of the oil in a kadhai/wok and fry the potols till they turn light brown (add some more oil if needed). Drain well and keep aside to cool.

For the stuffing:

In the same oil that you fried the potols in, fry the sliced onions and garlic till golden brown. Add turmeric, ginger, red chili powder, green chilies and a little salt. Add in the main stuffing ingredient: 

• If using fish – boil and debone it first. Mix well with above masala, cook for 2-3 minutes.
• If using prawns –Mix well with above masala, cook for 2-3 minutes.
• If using mutton keema/minced meat – cook on low heat till completely cooked and soft
• If using potatoes – boil and mash it first
• If using cottage cheese – crumble it first

After the gravy dries up, add the garam masala. Mix well and keep aside to cool

Once it cools down, fill the scooped out and fried potols with the stuffing – till the edge and packed tightly.

For the gravy:

Heat up the remaining oil in a kadhai/wok. 

Add in the bay leaves, onion paste and ginger paste. Fry very well, add red chili powder and turmeric. Mix and sauté for a couple of minutes. 

Add water and let it come to a boil. 

After a couple of minutes, add in the stuffed potols and let it all simmer on low heat till gravy thickens. 

Add garam masala powder, stir and remove from heat.

Arrange potols on a serving plate and pour the gravy on top.

Serve with plain boiled rice or pulao.

  

Notes:

• If you want, you can serve the fried stuffed potols without cooking in the gravy as well or even batter fry them.

• Bengali Garam Masala recipe: equally quantities cloves, cinnamon and cardamom – either sun them for a few hours or dry roast them lightly and then grind into a fine powder

• The scooped out seeds can be ground and added back into the stuffing or just stir fry with spices of your choice – which is how we eat them…yum yum yum!!!

• In the cottage cheese version, you add in a handful of raisins and sugar as well

• There is another stuffing version using coconut for filling but I have no clue how to go about that one!!