Chingri chal potol

We are on the verge of turning over a new life an moving ahead in the changed future. Well, lock-down life is certainly one of the pages of life that most people want to tear down, especially like me, if you have been at home gathering cellulite & noting very productive happening in life. Unlike me, there are many who at the cost of infecting themselves and others have continues with their share of pleasure rides by being in the company of humans, often than before, in public spaces. happy or sad? Mixed emotion, actually. Even though I might want to access their emotion of being at home, somehow I fail to process it. Safety for loved ones, is a prerogative for most, or it should be,

I am sharing a typical Bengali side dish with you today, celebrating our great love for seafood aka fish, as an ode to the beginning of new life. This to me is no less than Nobo borsho or Bengali new year. And like all other traditions, we celebrate every good or bad with some food on the table, may I add a good one at that. The vegetable mentioned here is special, because my mother fondly narrates how as I child, I loved nibbling on the "potoler bichi", as we call it in bengali,  balls or seeds of potol, cooked one of course!! I will not lie at all, but yes, this dish does encompass some step by step cooking and a bit of cellulite, as well. But it's certainly worth all that effort, and little goes a long way, as in you start with little and then help yourself with ladle full of it. This is generally a course served alongside dal or lentils or after that, but before fish and  chicken for sure.

I will discus the course of Bengali meal some other day, as for this day, it's pleasure reflecting on the cards. Gather your senses and note it down, in your repertoire of recipes, for this is sure to be a keeper. A look at the ingrediants and then the instructions:

1. 50 gm Gondind-bhog rice or any other fragrant short grain variety of rice- to be washed thoroughly and soaked in water for about 30 mins.
2. Clean shell and de-vein 300 gm of medium sized prawns, and marinate them with the usual: 1/2 tsp turmeric powder & some salt. Massage well & keep aside.
3. Peel 500 gm potol or parwal or pointed gourd and peel the. Chop them into medium sized pieces and keep aside. Peel 250 gm potatoes and cut them into medium cubes and soak in salted water.
4. In a bowl mix together the following: 1 tbsp of coarsely pounded ginger + 1/2 tsp turmeric powder+ 1 tsp heaped cumin powder+  1 tsp coriander powder + half tsp chili powder + 3 tbsp water. Stir well for everything to come together.
5. Heat an a pan and add about 3 tsp vegetable oil and fry a small handful of broken cashews and the same of raisins, till they color a a bit for about 30 sec. Add in the soaked rice to the pan and fry well till the grains become translucent. Remove from pan and set aside.
5. To the same pan pour in 1/8th cup mustard oil and add the prawns fry for a minute till they turn pink or coral, remove immediately. chopped potol and fry till they get some brown color on them. Take them out and keep aside. Next add in the potatoes and fry them till golden on all sides.

6. Add the following whole spices to it: 3 dry red chilies + 1/2 tsp cumin seeds+ 3-4 green cardamom (crushed)+ 1" cinnamon stick + 3-4 cloves+ 2 no bay leaves. Once aromatic add in the ginger paste mix into the pan and cook till oil separates. Add in the potatoes and cook covered , on a medium low flame for about 5-6 mins.

7. In a bowl mix and 4 tbsp tomato ketchup + 1.5 tsp salt + t+2 tsp sugar + 1/4th cup water and add to the pan. give a good mix, cover and cook till potatoes are soft. Next add in the fried rice & nuts along with a splash of hot water. Mix again and allow it to cook till rice is almost done.

8. Time for the potol to go back to the pan. Give a good mix with the rice and potatoes to combine all components well. Add in some warm water for the potol to cook well. Add in 3-4 slit green chilies at this time along with the fried prawns ( do not forget the juices or oi collected at the bottom of the bowl where prawns were kept).Cover and cook till soft, should be done in about 4 mins time, on medium flame.

9. Check for seasoning and adjust at this time.
10. Once patience reduces after 4 mins, peep into the pan. The veggies should be cooked in well, rice fluffed up and the gravy coating all skin and grains well. Add about 2 tsp ghee and a generous pinch of garam masala powder, and take it off the hob. Done!! Just needs to be eaten with piping hot rice.

This is a typical Bengali home dish, not to be found at most of the famed Bengali restaurants as well. So in case you have no reference point, while adjusting the seasoning, remember, it will be a tad bit of the sweeter side. It is the mild heat and the flavor of green chilies that plays well in the background. I do not endorse this to be eaten with anything else but rice: Be it steamed, be it Basonti Pulao or the regular home style Pulao with chopped veggies and nuts. Some points I would still like to mention in here:
a. The ginger paste mentioned can be used out of a packet, No harm in that at all.
b. In case you do not have tomato ketchup, substitute it with chopped ripe tomatoes ( about 2 large), and add them along with the cumin paste to the mustard oil. In that case color wouldn't be that enticingly red as the images.
c. Even though this happens to be a semi gravy dish, the quantity of gravy still depends on your liking.
d. Feel free to veg this by removing the Prawns from it. In case you are using prawns keep the tails intact, not only to make them photogenic but also the trails add a bit of crunch, which I love.
e. Even though dishes of this sort are mostly prepared when you have guests over, the generous mom never really made an exception of that sort.
f. Once the prawns go into the pan for the first time, we re looking at flash frying along side flavoring the oil with that of the prawns. so no more than  minute is advisable at all.

Now that the nitty-gritty and the know how's have been typed out, with a lot of love, I am sure you must be waiting to cook them soonest, not only to feed your guests but also the most important part of society: la familia. After all in most cases the family plays the role of guinea pig well. Lol! Mine certainly does due to the lack of any other option and to keep me calm in the lock-down market.

Needless to remind you again, hoe much I shall be looking forward to hearing from you guys about this or any other dish that you happen to or even plan to cook from this blog. An image on the gram would be lovely or you can e-mail me or DM me, for sure!! Also if you come up with any other version, I would love an update on that as well.

Cook well, eat well. Love more & smile often.