Parval is a vegetable we never had much as a child, blame it on cultural restrictionsts and lack of will to try new things. Besides it is one of those infamous foods that a lot of people like to avoid but I have a special attraction towards these infamous vegetables (must be my mom's genes in me acting up). Vegetables are lovely creatures if you cook them well and eat them with an open mind. Who wouldn't love this lively bright green that shines with so much vigor? (Dull green veggies that wrinkles puts me off too).
Parval is light, dry, cooked and eaten with the skin so also tastes a bit crunchy and has a bitter/pungent taste. The modern diet and lifestyle often misses out on these two tastes, particularly the bitter taste. There are few foods that are pleasantly bitter like eggplants and fenugreek and I have a special place in my heart for these vegetables. So I knew I would like parval even before I had tasted it. The question is how do you prepare it so those who don't have the desire to explore or excite their bitter tastebuds?
Here's what I came up with:
Here's what you need:
1/2 cup Parval (pointed gourd) washed, wiped clean and copped in small sized cubes
1/2 cup Pindalu (Sweet Potato) washed, peeled and copped in small sized cubes
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 Tbsp Oil (sesame seeds oil)
1 tsp mustard seeds (rai)
1/2 tsp carrom seeds (ajwain)
2 tsp garlic (finely chopped)
1 tsp ginger (finely chopped)
2 green chillies (finely chopped)
1/4 cup or 1 small chopped tomatoes
ED7 Spice Mix and Sendha Namak
Red chili powder (optional)
Heres what you do:
Heat a pan or kadai and add the oil to it.
When hot, add mustard seeds and when they crackle, add ajwain, garlic followed by ginger and green chillies and cook till the raw smell of garlic is gone. Mix thoroughly while cooking so as not to burn the masala. Add the onions, mix and allow it to cook only till onions start sweating.
Now add the parval and sweet potatoes immidietely to this masala and mix to coat. Add the red chili powder if using now.
Mix, cover with a plate filled with water and cook till parval and potatoes are tender and almost cooked. (A good sign of this is when half the water in the plate has evaporated).
Add Sendha Namak, Spice Mix and tomatoes. Cover again and cook till tomatoes are tender.
Cook without cover mixing every few minutes till all the ingredients have blended well.
Garnish with corriander leaves and serve hot with Puris.
Heres why I do what I do:
Parwal and Sweet potatoes make an awesome combo and they complement each other very well with all opposite qualities. I add the red chilli powder while sweet potatoes and Parwal are stilll uncooked as the sweetness of the sweet potatoes is not something many people appreciate in a spicy dish (if you avoid the chillies and chilli powder, the potatoes will taste a little sweet). Also, it helps to cut all veggies in same sized cubes. Make sure onion is not browned, just sweating when the veggies are added, this is important for getting the taste right as well as helping with the digestibility.
1/2 cup Parval (pointed gourd) washed, wiped clean and copped in small sized cubes
1/2 cup Pindalu (Sweet Potato) washed, peeled and copped in small sized cubes
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 Tbsp Oil (sesame seeds oil)
1 tsp mustard seeds (rai)
1/2 tsp carrom seeds (ajwain)
2 tsp garlic (finely chopped)
1 tsp ginger (finely chopped)
2 green chillies (finely chopped)
1/4 cup or 1 small chopped tomatoes
ED7 Spice Mix and Sendha Namak
Red chili powder (optional)
Heres what you do:
Heat a pan or kadai and add the oil to it.
When hot, add mustard seeds and when they crackle, add ajwain, garlic followed by ginger and green chillies and cook till the raw smell of garlic is gone. Mix thoroughly while cooking so as not to burn the masala. Add the onions, mix and allow it to cook only till onions start sweating.
Now add the parval and sweet potatoes immidietely to this masala and mix to coat. Add the red chili powder if using now.
Mix, cover with a plate filled with water and cook till parval and potatoes are tender and almost cooked. (A good sign of this is when half the water in the plate has evaporated).
Add Sendha Namak, Spice Mix and tomatoes. Cover again and cook till tomatoes are tender.
Cook without cover mixing every few minutes till all the ingredients have blended well.
Garnish with corriander leaves and serve hot with Puris.
Heres why I do what I do:
Parwal and Sweet potatoes make an awesome combo and they complement each other very well with all opposite qualities. I add the red chilli powder while sweet potatoes and Parwal are stilll uncooked as the sweetness of the sweet potatoes is not something many people appreciate in a spicy dish (if you avoid the chillies and chilli powder, the potatoes will taste a little sweet). Also, it helps to cut all veggies in same sized cubes. Make sure onion is not browned, just sweating when the veggies are added, this is important for getting the taste right as well as helping with the digestibility.
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