Potals/Parval Stir fry

Addressed as Pointed gourd in english, Parval in hindi, Potals/protons in south India, this vegetable is a must eat. Highly popular in North Indian as non-vegetarian sabji, parval lives up to that taste with its crunchy exterior and a full interior.

Use to enjoy this vegie growing up whenever mom or granny had in on the menu. It was usually a couple or more ways in which they use to make it..a stir fry, or a curried style or a tamatar version. Whatever way it is done I absolutely adore this vegetable.

For those who are not so familiar with potals, this is how they look like in raw form.

In South India, we were not so fortunate to have this vegetable so regularly, guess it was seasonal one too..Here in North America, off late I was overjoyed to see these in Indian and Asian stores.

A simple stir fry of this vegie is easy to make and satisfies the taste buds with its crunchy texture.

Ingredients:
1 lb Potals/Parval, (Washed and cut into thin slices lenth-wise, as shown in the pic)
1 tbp oil
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
1 Onion cut length wise
2 Red Chillies broken into small peices
1/2 tsp Red chilly powder
1/8 tsp Turmeric
A few curry leaves
Coriander to garnish
Salt to taste
If interested add 1 tsp of Home made Curry leaf powder for more flavour. (I will post the method to make curry leaf powder soon)

Method:
Heat up oil in kadai/wok/skillet. Add mustard seeds.
After mustard splutters, add cumin seeds and fry a little.
Then add red chillies saute, and add the onions, curry leaves and fry them till onions are translucent.
Add the turmeric powder, saute.
Now add the cut potals and salt, give it a nice mix to coat them well with the tempering.
Sprinkle some water and cook covered with lid till the vegie is cooked stirring in regular intervals so that it won't stick to kadai and get charred.
When it is almost cooked , add the chilli powder and curry leaf powder, mix, garnish with coriander leaves and remove from heat.
Serve hot with Rice and sambar or dal.