Pagila Podi / Spine Gourd (Teasel Gourd) Tava Fries.

“Pagila Podi / Spine Gourd (Teasel Gourd) Tava Fries” … A very simple but delicious monsoon delicacy fries that tastes great when served as a side dish with other dishes … specially dalitoy~rice … Yummy Yumz … 

** Podi is the konkani name for Tawa / Deep fried Vegetables by spicing them and just rolling them to dust evenly on flour. You can prepare podi from vegetables like raw banana, sweet potato, potato, ripe nendrabale banana, pumpkin, brinjal, spine gourd etc. I have already posted many podi using different veggies before, I have also posted a deep fried one of spine gourd. Spine gourd or Pagila as called in Konkani is a monsoon vegetable and is available throughout the monsoon period. You get them in all sizes, small, medium and large, but maximum the size of a large lemon ie slightly larger than tennis ball. They are oval in shape and green in color and have a rough thorny skin. You can scrape off the skin or retain, we always retain the same, it is very tasty that way. I have included the spine gourds in the picture along with the fries for knowledge. This recipe is slightly different from the one I posted before, though the difference is very little, this time I have not used besan/gram flour and tava fried avoiding deep frying of the same. The recipe is very simple, so without going into much explanation let’s move on straight to the preparation. 

** Here is the preparation method of Pagila / Spine Gourd Podi / Tava Fries .... My Style ....

** Wash about 8-10 pagila / spine gourd / teasel gourd well. Snip off the stem and the end side and cut them into medium thin sliced roundels and put them in a flat round bowl. Now add in 1 tsp of red chilly powder, large pinch of hing, salt to taste, ½ tsp of tamarind water or vinegar, little bit of haldi powder (Optional) and mix well. The powder should get mixed properly and coat the slices evenly. If you find the powder too dry, sprinkle a little bit of water. But see to it that you do not add more or the powder mixture will become runny. Keep this covered aside for some time or you can keep it in the refrigerator if using after a few hours. 

** For Dusting / Rolling the pieces : In a flat plate add 2 – 3 tblsp of rice flour and spread evenly. Now roll the pieces each separately in the powder to even dust, not less not much and keep them aside ready. If you do not have rice powder you can even use the fine rava / chiroti rava. 

** For Tava frying : Heat a non stick tava, when hot add a tablespoon of oil and spread it evenly on the tava. Now place each slice on the tava and fry on medium-low heat for 5-7 minutes covering with a dome lid. Now sprinkle some water, just a few drops on top and allow to cook covered for another few minutes, remove the lid and raise the heat and cook until the bottom side is crisp. Now flip the pieces over to cook on the other side and cook till crisp too. Remove when crispy and keep them on an absorbent paper to remove excess oil if any. 

** “Pagila Podi / Spine Gourd (Teasel Gourd) Tava Fries” is done and ready to be served. Serve hot as a side dish during lunch/dinner time with other dishes. They taste awesome with Dalitoy-Rice and other curries when served in thali as a full meal during functions. I served them with dalitoy-rice, potato bhaji and ridge gourd chutney for lunch. Do try this out and enjoy with your family and friends. 

** Note: You can also cut the pagila/spine gourd horizontally into 4-6 pieces depending upon the size of the pagila and prepare them into podies too. Traditionally they were done so. But when we tava fry, if the shapes have flat surfaces it is that much better to cook so I prepared them as roundels. The result though remains the same while only the shape remains different. 

** Again, you can also deep fry these podis. Just bring to smoking point plenty of oil in a kadai. Lower the heat and add the rolled / dusted pagila (spine gourd) pieces one by one into the oil and fry till evenly browned. Do not over fry, they tend to become brittle and loose the taste. So just keep it soft within and crispy outside. 

** There are plenty of recipes using pagila / spine gourd in my Blog. You can use the search option for "Pagila or Spine Goured" and you will get many more combinations of the same prepared using different flours. Do try out various types of dishes to relish with yummy side dishes that are also included in the Blog. Just use the labels on the right side of the blog for various types of dishes. Enjoy the dishes with your family and friends and do give me a feedback if possible. 

** An Earnest Request : There are many more recipes of similar type in the blog. For all my Recipes, use the search option or the label section in the Blog. If you are still not able to find it please leave a message in comment section or mail me the same. You can also go to my page (add on the left side of blog) and leave a message and I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible … Thank you. I have also started a food group for "Konkani Saraswats" by the name "KONKANI DELICACIES" the link of which is posted on the left side of the blog page. Do join us in our culinary journey. I strongly believe in Sharing and always endorse that "Sharing Is Caring".