Potoler Dolma (stuffed parwal)

I am remembering a lot of fun memories while writing this recipe. When I first came to the US we didn't find pointed gourd or parwal in the west coast. I was literally so sad to have missed my most favorite vegetable, I even considered moving to the East Coast or to India for that matter. After that when we started getting parwal in the west coast I remember it was very expensive. I would still buy as much as I could and then we had all sorts of potol recipes for the rest of the week. Unfortunately, my husband wasn't that fond of potol as much as I was. Strangely for potol I have seen either people love them or hate them, usually no middle ground. One very popular potol recipe in Bengal is "potoler dolma" or stuffed potol. It is made with much bigger gourds. However, it is quite difficult to make dolma with the small gourds we get here, I still manage to make them once in a while. The stuffing can be either vegetarian or non-vegetarian. Usually, non-vegetarian dolma is served during wedding/reception lunches, made with fish or minced meat or prawn. While the vegetarian stuffing is made with the pulp (inside of a potol) mixed with coconut or some kind of nuts. This particular recipe is vegetarian. This is one of those recipes that require longer prep-time that cooking time. 

Ingredient:
Pointed gourd or parwal, about 6-7, inside pulp including seeds scooped out
Chopped onion 1/4th cup
Ginger 1/2 tsp for stuffing and 1/2 teaspoon for cooking
Green chilli- 2 or 3
1/2 tomato chopped
1/2 tsp cumin powder
Pinch of whole cumin for tempering
Salt and sugar for taste
1 tsp turmeric
Oil

Recipe:
With the help of a knife lightly scrape the body of the gourds
then cut one tip so we can fit the back of a spoon and scoop out the meat inside (like photos)
Grate the pulp with the coconut and and ginger
Smear the gourds with salt and turmeric and fry lightly until they are cooked and fried
To prepare the stuffing add some oil to the pan, add onion and fry well
Add ginger (1/2 tsp), and saute well
Add the grated coconut and fry well
Add salt and sugar per taste
Now fill the gourds with this filling once ready to handle
In a separate pan add some more oil
Temper some whole cumin
Add ginger and rest of the tomato
Add the whole chillies
After sauteing well add some cumin powder
Add a little water depending on how much gravy you want (I made this one very dry)
Add salt and sugar
Spread the gravy over the gourds

Yogurt in Electric Pressure Cooker

I had been planning on buying an electric pressure cooker for a long time. The sole reason I resisted buying a rice cooker or a slow cooker is because the electric one does it all. I have been using my electric cooker that I bought from Amazon for a little over two years now. After trying different cooking options, I have to say this is one of my prized kitchen gadgets. I am glad to have made the yogurt using the pressure cooker finally. It turned out to be perfect. We ate it for dessert the following day and kept some in the refrigerator. I didn't make it too sweet but I guess you can make it sweeter if you like. 

I just followed the direction from the cooker recipe booklet. I added about 1 tablespoon yoghurt for 1 cup of milk. And about half a tablespoon sugar to that. First thing I had to do is steam the milk using the water and steam function as directed by the manual. Then cool it down to a temperature okay to handle. Mix the yoghurt stirring gently. Next put the bowl (steel or baking bowl will do) on the steaming rack. Use the yoghurt function and follow the instruction. I set it overnight as it took 8 hours.  

   

Cilantro and Bell Pepper Chicken

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We spent our christmas hopping around theme parks this year. My son was super excited to meet his hero Optimus Prime from the Transformers movie at Universal studios. We had our share of fun with the rides at Disneyland, Universal Studios and Legoland and the amazing LA food, of course. I am planning to do another post with all the restaurants we visited during our Los Angeles visit. California never fails to please our appetite in its literal sense.

After coming back from a week long vacation, we were longing for some home-cooked food. My son was craving for some home-made chicken curry but I didn't feel like making the same old curry. Therefore, I decided to make something different. Here goes the recipe and the outcome. 

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken

1 onion thinly sliced

2 tbsp garlic paste

1 tbsp ginger paste

4-5 green chilies

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 a bunch of cilantro

1/2 tomato

1/2 red bell pepper

1 tbsp vinegar

Salt, sugar, turmeric and black pepper per taste

Mustard oil and vegetable oil

Recipe:

Blend the cilantro, bell-pepper, green chillies and tomato together with a little water

Marinate the chicken with salt, vinegar, ginger and garlic paste for at least about 2 hours 

Heat some oil in a pan. I used both mustard and vegetable oil together

Add the sugar and black pepper to the hot oil

Fry the onion very well until brown

Add garam masala

Then add the marinated chicken

Cook the chicken until half done and all the water is dried

Then add the cilantro-pepper blend

Cook it at medium-low heat for 20-25 minutes until oil separates, sprinkle water as needed to make sure the spices don't stick to the bottom

Shabu Makha (tapioca mix)

I was feeling extremely lethargic the whole day yesterday and didn't feel like cooking or eating. As I was thinking of making some sort of salad or one-dish meal that would be fast and easy, my mom reminded me of 'shabu-makha'. People that have grown up in Bengali households are most likely to be familiar with this dish, especially, those with grandparents. I remember this to be the staple food for my grandmothers on auspicious days or to break a fast. I used to look forward to those days for these special meals. Guests used to bring fruits as presents and my grandmothers would mix the tapioca with the fruits. Now if you think of it, tapioca is actually a very good source of carbohydrate which is rich in iron, and low in sodium. Therefore, it soothes a fasting stomach while at the same time providing a good source of energy. Anyway, it requires absolutely zero preparation time, so good for a lazy cook as well. That said it does require to be soaked in water overnight. So needs some planning time definitely.

Method:
Wash the tapioca in clear water and soak overnight
Run through cold water one more time before preparing
Add 2 tbsp of milk for a cup of soaked tapioca
Add half of a large banana or a small banana
Add some fruits, raisins and nut chopped per preference
Add grated coconut (I used the frozen one)
Sugar per taste
Mix everything together and let it sit for 10/15 minutes
Ready to serve