Gointa- Batate Bajjunu Upkari/ Pointed Gourd Potato Bhaji.

"Gointa- Batate Bajjunu Upkari/ Pointed Gourd Potato Bhaji" ... parwal is a user friendly veggie available plenty in Mumbai ... you can prepare varieties of dishes using them ... here is a very simple side dish prepared with addition of my favorite potatoes ... tastes great with roti/ parathas or with dal- chawal too ... Yummilicious ... 

** A simple no fuss bhaji prepared with slightly thinly sliced pointed gourd/ parwal/ gointa and potatoes/ aloo/ batato. The oil for this bhaji should be kept slightly more than for normal ones to get the desired fried taste. That is the meaning of bajjunu upkari which means fried bhaji, However, I have maintained it to medium but if you increase a little bit more and cook the whole bhaji in oil itself it taste much more tastier. Nevertheless, considering health aspects in today’s day we tend to be conscious of addition of extra oil. Therefore, I have cut down on oil but even then it turns out tasty and goes when served as side dish with roti/ chapatti/ parathas or even with dal- rice.

** Here is my simple recipe for "Gointa- Batate Bajjunu Upkari/ Pointed Gourd Potato Bhaji" … My Style …

** Wash and wipe dry about 10-12 pointed gourd/ parwal/ gointa and after slicing off both the end edges cut them horizontally into rings of about 1/6 inch size thickness, put this in water and keep this ready aside.

** Peel off the skin of one large sized potato/ aloo/ batato, cut it vertically into four slices and then slice it again into 1/6 inch thickness, this way you will get triangular cuts. Soak them immediately in plenty of water.

** Heat about 2-3 tblsp of oil/tel, when hot lower the heat to medium and add in ½ tsp cumin seeds (jeera) and ¼ tsp mustard seeds (rai/ sasam), when it begins to splutter add about 8-10 fresh curry leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu and fry for a second.

** Now add in the prepared and kept parwal after draining off all excess water. Mix well on hight heat for 2 minutes and then lower the heat cover and cook until half done. Mix in between and sprinkle some water only if needed.

** When the parwal pieces have half cooked add in the potato pieces after completely draining off the water from it too and mix well. Cover and cook on low heat checking and mixing often with light movement and sprinkling water if necessary.

** When 90% done add in pinch of hing (asafoetida) powder, 2 tsp of sambar powder or red chilly powder, pinch of haldi (turmeric) powder, little bit of agal (kokum concentrate) or tamarind paste or two pieces of kokum, salt (meeta/ namak) to taste and mix well.

** Sprinkle some water to the above, cover and cook until done. You should be careful when mixing and also should not overcook the veggies as if turned too soft it will mash up and not taste good. The taste lies in the slight crunch of the parwal and soft potato pieces.

** "Gointa- Batate Bajjunu Upkari/ Pointed Gourd Potato Bhaji" is done and ready to be served. Tastes best served as side dish with roti/ parathas or you can also serve it with dal- chawal, though I always prefer it with roti as they taste real good along with some curds.

** This is a simple bhaji of which you can increase the spice level if needed, I have kept it medium as I have cut down a lot on spicy dishes as it does not suit our tummies much now. You can make variations and increase parwal and reduce potatoes too.

** You can also add amchur powder if needed if you do not have the above mentioned ingredients for tartness. You can completely leave out the addition of tartness to the bhaji too, if you do not like, I have add just few drops of kokum concentrate ie agal for the dish.

** Veggie Bhaji is healthy option to be had on daily basis along with meals or should I say it is a must according to our ancestors of which now the nutritionist too recommend. There are plenty of bhaji combo dishes in my Blog please use the search option and browse.