Pagila- Batato- Sungata Panna Randai/ Spicy Spine Gourd (Teasel Gourd)- Potato- Prawn semi dry Curry.

“Pagila- Batato- Sungata Panna Randai/ Spicy Spine Gourd (Teasel Gourd)- Potato- Prawn semi dry Curry” … some days you just feel like having a spicy dish with just plain phulkas ... here is a delicious spicy side dish that tastes awesome served with Chapati/ Roti/ Paratha/ Panpolo (neera dosa) or you can serve it with our very own Dalitoy (spiced dal)- Rice too … Yummmilicious ....

** I had loads of work piled up for the full week ahead and many more yet to come and I have absolutely no idea how I am going to finish them all off. Rest and sleep are something must which I have lately begun giving priority to. Till a few weeks back I was attending office, cooking, editing, posting and too seriously attending my food group etc. above that I had family commitments. There is just that much how much a man can do, after all we are not super humans. I was over working round the clock, till a few weeks back when I found out that my house was a mess, my drawers, book shelves, kitchen cabinet, wardrobe everything was not neat and tidy how it used to be. I sat for a good 40 minutes, not knowing what to do, finally I got up and went about clearing things one by one and I did not realize how 2 hours flew by, but yes the house did take a shape and I was satisfied a little bit.

** I am sure many of you must have passed such crisis. I just thought, I must slow down, what’s the hurry, it’s not as though I am in a running race. I had nothing to prove, nothing to win except my commitments towards the job I had taken over. My friends were good enough to tell me to chill and just lie around a few weeks and everything would be ok. I just did that, I even refused to take any invitation from friends nor gave out any. No way, I wanted my space for some time, till I could think properly, well there is still lots to do, but I have cooled down and let things take their own time. I have no idea when my editing of hundreds of recipes lying in draft will be done. But I am happy with how things are, I go out and enjoy, come back and take things lightly and do my work in ease. It’s great to take breaks and I know all of you must be doing so, but mine is the first one in a long time and I really feel great about it.

** Coming to Recipe, it is very simple and I have just used powdered ingredients in masala to the curry, also, I was all ready to do prawn curry when I realized that I had a few pagila (spine gourd) which I wanted to finish, so cut down the portion of prawns and added on sliced pagila and potato cut into triangular cuts (katla). I had absolutely no idea how this dish would turn out as I was adding pagila first time with non-veg. Many of my friends add veggies to fish curries while we amchies usually do not. We always prepare our fish curries, exclusively with addition of fish and masalas only and it was surprise to me decades back when my friend served me fish with lady’s finger. Mom had never done it and we children had hardly traveled to know what other cuisine were. Somehow I lost track of that recipe and almost forgot about the same till a few months back when I just went through a recipe on net. So today, I was game to add pagila and it was delicious and healthier option of curry to go with roti.

** Here is my recipe for “Pagila- Batato- Sungata Panna Randai/ Spicy Spine Gourd (Teasel Gourd)- Potato- Prawn semi dry Curry” … My Style …

** Remove outer shell of about 20-25 large sized prawns (sungata/ yetti/ kolumbi), de-vein them and wash in plenty of water. Drain off excess water, pat dry and put in a bowl. Add in a pinch of haldi (turmeric powder), pinch of salt (namak/ meeta) and half a teaspoon of red chilly powder (mirsange pitti/ mirchi tikkat) and mix well. Keep this aside covered till the other ingredients are prepared.

** Ingredients to be cut and kept ready : Wash and clean about 8-10 medium sized pagila (Teasel gourd / kantola / spine gourd). Slice off the edges and slice them into round rings slightly thick and keep it aside. Peel of the skin of one large sized potato (batato/ aloo). Cut it into 1/2 inch sized pieces and soak it in water till needed. Peel off the skin of one large sized onion (piyavu/ kanda), chop them fine and keep it ready too. Wash, wipe dry and chop two tomatoes into small pieces and keep it ready.

** Preparing the curry : Heat 3-4 tblsp of oil (tel/ tela) in a thick bottomed kadai, add finely chopped onions and fry till they are evebkt browned (similar to panna upkari, so do not burn the onions), now add in a few curry leaves (kadipatta/ karbevu), 3 tblsp of kashmiri red chilly powder (mirsange pitti/ mirchi tikkat), 1 tsp of coriander (dhania) powder, ½ tsp of jeera (cumin) powder, ½ tsp of fennel powder (badisep) and fry for a few seconds. Lastly add ½ tsp goda masala or garam masala and mix well.

** Fry the above masala for 2-3 minutes and then add chopped tomatoes and further fry for a few minutes. Add one cup of water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and allow the tomatoes to cook well. Slightly crush the tomatoes so that they turn into a thick gravy sort. Now add sliced pagila, potato pieces and mix well. Cover and cook till done, lastly add in the prepared and kept aside prawns, salt/ namak/ meeta to taste and mix well. Add water only if necessary, as this is a semi dry curry.

** Note : Prawns hardly takes more that 3-4 minutes to cook, so the pagila and potatoes should be completely cooked before adding the prawns, also see to it that you do not overcook either the veggies or prawns, as it tastes best when slight crunchiness is retained. Remove and keep the dish aside covered for some time, it thickens and turns thicker in texture.  Also, you can increase/ decrease the amount of chilly powder as per individual choice. I added kashmiri powder which gives out good color while adding in a little bit bulk to the gravy, also it is less spicier.

** “Pagila- Batato- Sungata Panna Randai/ Spicy Spine Gourd (Teasel Gourd)- Potato- Prawn semi dry Curry” is done and ready to be served. This is a spicy dry dish that tastes best served with roti or paratha or panpolo (neer dosa). You can also serve as side dish with dalitoy (spiced dal) and rice along with a papad or so and it turns out to be a fantastic meal. I simply served it with aloo paratha and it tasted simply fantastic. Do try this dish out and enjoy with your family and friends.