Chingri die Potole er Dolma is an age old Bengali delicacy. Some people make the vegetarian version by filling the pointed gourds/potol with potato or paneer stuffing. And some just use the fish mixture, keema or prawn-potato mixture as filling. Nevertheless to say different variations of Potol er Dolma has their own unique taste. My mom used to make the vegetarian version of Potol er Dolma, where she used to fill the pointed gourds with potato-peanut-coconut mixture. I grown up eating that. But after my marriage I got a chance to taste this version of Potol er Dolma, made with a filling of prawns-potatoes and other ingredients, later cooked in a coconut milk based gravy, this is somehow the best version of Dolma I’ve tasted so far.
This is my MIL’s recipe and my hubby always cooks this better than me. 🙂 So this time also it was cooked by him only, see how scrumptious it looks!
Potol er Dolma/Stuffed Pointed Gourd with Prawn
Serves: 5
Ingredients
- Potol/Parwal/Pointed Gourd- 10
- Prawn small sized ( I used small bagda)- 250g net weight without shells and heads
- Potato- 2 medium sized (wash, peel and grated) and 1 big sized potato peeled and cut into cubes. Wash and keep aside.
- Tomato- 2 medium size pureed or use 5 tbsp of store brought tomato puree
- Onion paste of 1 medium sized onion
- Ginger paste- 1 tbsp
- Slit green chillies- 3-4
- Black peppercorn powder- 1+1 tsp
- Sugar- 1 tsp + 1 tbsp
- Cumin seeds- ½ tsp
- Cumin powder- 1 tsp + 1 tbsp
- Turmeric powder
- Kashmiri mirch powder- 1+1 tsp
- Salt
- Coconut milk- 1 cup (big coffee mug size)
- Grated coconut- ½ cup
- Green Cardamom – 3 (roughly crushed)
- Cinnamon – 1″ inch (two pieces)
- Clove – 3-4
- Bay leaf- 1
- Dry red chilli- 1
- Garam masala powder- ¼ tsp + ¼ tsp
- Ghee/Clarified Butter- 1 tsp
- Vegetablle oil
Method
How to scoop and clean the Pointed Gourd/Potol
Cut small portions off from both the ends of potol. Scrape the skin very lightly using the reverse side of the knife. Check my small video here to know how to scrape pointed gourd perfectly. Wash the pointed gourds after scraping off the skin. With the handle of a metal spoon, scoop out the seeds of pointed gourds from inside. Care should be taken not to break them. Add the seeds in a mixer/grinder and grind until a coarse, thick paste forms. Keep aside.
Heat 1/4 cup oil in a deep frying pan. Fry the pointed gourds/potol till they start to brown. Remove and keep aside.
Making of the stuffing
Rub 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder on the freshly washed pieces of prawn. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a deep frying pan (nonstick preferably). Fry the prawns for 2-3 minutes. Remove and keep aside. Add 1 tsp cumin powder, stir in the oil for a minute. Next to add grated potato. Stir fry for 4-5 minutes. Now add ¾ tsp black peppercorn powder, 1 tsp kashmiri mirch powder, salt and grated coconut. Keep stirring and frying till the potatoes are done. Feel free to add some more oil at this stage, if needed. The stuffing should be sticky and medium dry. Cook this on medium heat. Next to add 1 tsp of sugar, fried prawns, grated coconut, seeds paste of pointed gourds and ¼ tsp of garam masala powder. Mix and cook for another 2-3 minutes more before removing from heat. Let the filling cool a bit.
Stuffing the Potols:
Fill the pointed gourds with the stuffing mixture by using your fingers. Keep them aside.
Preparing the gravy
Heat 4-5 tbsp oil again. Fry the cubed potatoes, let the potatoes turn golden brown, remove and keep aside.
Temper with cumin seeds, green cardamoms, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf and dry red chili. Add the onion paste sauté until light brown in color. Next to add ginger paste, tomato puree, green chilies, ½ tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp kashmiri mirch powder, 1/2 tsp black peppercorn powder, 1 tsp cumin powder and salt. Mix and fry this on medium heat, until the masala starts leaving oil. Add coconut milk and fried potatoes. Mix and cook on low flame until the potatoes are done. The gravy should be thick. If you want semi thick gravy, you can add some water. Add 1 tbsp of sugar and garam masala powder, cook for another 2-3 minutes more. Now add all the stuffed potol and ghee.
Gently drop all the potol in the gravy, just give them a steady and slow stir. Cook uncovered for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer this dish to a serving bowl.
Your ‘Potol er Dolma’ is ready. Serve hot with steamed rice. Enjoy!
