Thursday, 23 May 2013

Jhinga Postu (Ridge gourd with Poppy Seeds)


Hi All
It’s been a while, I have posted something vegetarian for my friends. You all must have heard about aloo postu (potato in poppy seeds) which is a famous Bengali vegan dish. Today, I am going to post something different with posto (poppy seeds). This is for people who want to avoid potatoes totally. This is made with ridge gourd which is known as Todi in Hindi, dodka in Marathi and jhinga in Bengali.

Ingredients

Ridge gourd                                                      : 250 Gms
Poppy Seeds (khus Khus)                                   : ¾ cup
Green Chili                                                        : 5 nos
Kalonji                                                               : ½ tsp.
Oil                                                                     : 3 tsp.
Salt                                                                    : as per taste
Turmeric powder                                                : ¾ tsp.

Method

Soak the poppy seeds for ½ hr. and wash it clean through a sieve. Then put it in a grinder, add one green chili and little water to make a smooth paste. Please do not omit the chili since it makes the poppy seeds (khus khus) go little bitter without it. Ensure there are no grains in the paste. Grind it really well.


Peel the ridge gourd clean and chop them in cubes, ensure they are not too small. Ridge gourd leaves lots of water and will become totally mushy once cooked. So ensure they are medium sized.

Now heat the kadai/wok. Add the oil and let it heat. Add the kalonji and once it starts spluttering add the ridge gourd. Add turmeric powder, fry it till it starts wilting. Now add the Poppy seeds’ paste and keep frying. DO NOT add salt at this stage. Let the water evaporate as much as possible. When the mixture starts sticking to the wok/kadai wall add the salt. Mix it well, add ¼ cup water, and add the whole green chili (you can split it if you want hot or leave it whole without the stock). This gives a flavour to the dish. Once it become thick remove from heat and enjoy it with steamed rice. It will not become too dry since ridge gourd is high in water content.

Enjoy your meal and do give me feedback once you have tried.

Love
Arpita

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