A traditional Bengali preparation, Potol Chingrir Dalna is a tasty, delicious, family-favorite dish of ours. I’ve learned this from my MIL, and since then, I cooked it umpteen times and ended up liking it much more than the regular Aloo Potoler tarkari. The unmatchable flavor of the prawns uplifts the whole dish to the next level here. Prawns always do that while cooked together with different vegetables in Bengali cuisine. This one ingredient breaks the monotony of eating the same vegetable (here Potol) frequently in summer by adding a great taste.
I hope you’ll enjoy cooking this for your family and friends. Don’t forget to share your experience with me if you try this recipe. 🙂
Potol Chingrir Dalna / Bengali Pointed Gourd Curry with Prawns
A traditional Bengali preparation, Potol Chingrir Dalna is a tasty, delicious, family-favorite dish of ours. Cooked with prawns, potatoes, and seasonal pointed gourds in a lightly spiced curry base, this tastes great with steamed rice.
Ingredients
- 500g- Potol / Pointed Gourd
- 2- Potatoes (medium-sized)
- 1- Onion, large (chopped)
- 200g- Prawns (medium-sized)
- Turmeric powder
- 1 tsp- Coriander powder
- 1 tbsp- Cumin powder
- 1 tsp- Kashmiri mirch powder-
- 1 tbsp- Ginger paste
- 1 tsp- Garlic paste
- 2-3- Green chilies (halved)
- Salt to taste
- 1 tbsp- Sugar
- ½ tsp- Garam masala powder
- Mustard oil
For tempering
- ½ tsp- Cumin seeds
- 1- Bay leaf
- 2- Whole dry red chili (halved)
Instructions
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Cut off small portions from both of the ends of each potol and peel the skin in stripes (check the picture for reference).
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Cut each potol in 2-3 (the number of pieces from each potol depends on the size of the vegetable) thick roundeles. Wash them and keep aside.
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Peel the potatoes and cut into cubes, wash and keep aside.
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Add ½ tsp turmeric powder and salt to the prawns, mix well and keep aside.
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Heat ¼ cup oil in a deep frying pan/kadai. Fry the potol and potato pieces over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until all the vegetables turn light brown in colour. Remove them from the kadai, and keep aside.
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Now add some more oil and shallow fry the prawns quickly for 2 minutes, remove and keep aside.
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In the rest of the oil temper with all the ingredients mentioned for tempering, sauté for a few seconds.
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Add the chopped onions, and sauté until light brown in colour.
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Next to add the ginger-garlic paste, sauté quickly for a few seconds.
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Add the green chillies, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, kashmiri mirch powder, and salt, mix and cook over medium heat for a few seconds. Now add a few tablespoons of water, and keep stirring the masala until it starts leaving oil. Adding water at this stage prevents the spices from burning, helps to dissolve the masala, and enhances the flavour.
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Add the potol and potatoes, mix well, cover and cook for 5-6 minutes over medium heat, keep stirring in-between.
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Now add water up to the edges of the vegetables, mix well, cover and cook until the vegetables are done.
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Add the prawns towards the end of the cooking, along with sugar and garam masala powder, mix well, and cook uncovered for 2-3 minutes.
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Remove from the heat and transfer the Potol Chingrir Dalna to a bowl. Serve hot as a side dish with steamed rice, enjoy!
