“Kantola Nu Shaak/ Spine Gourd Masala Bhaji” ... a simple- delicious dry side dish from Gujarati cuisine prepared with monsoon veggie Pagila/ Spine Gourd/ Teasel Gourd/ Kantola/ Kankoda as is called in different regions ... tastes great served with roti ... Yummilicious ....
** I am sure all are familiar with spine gourd, as for GSB community people, we just wait patiently all year round for this seasonal veggie just to relish them prepared as fries. The most sought after during every festive day that falls during monsoon, as almost every home prepares them to be served. Well, there are certainly other dishes too that can be prepared using pagila and without running much into details let me share a simple, yet tasty side dish which is called as Kantola Nu Shaak in Gujrati as for amchies the word would simply be upkari prepared with addition of dry masalas powders. A very tasty dish that you must add on to your list this season.
** Here is the simple method preparing “Kantola Nu Shaak/ Spine Gourd Masala Bhaji” … My Style …
** Wash about 8-10 large sized pagila/ kantola/ spine gourd properly. At times there are dirt sticking to the outer spiky skin, so check it out. Let drain off the water or wipe it dry. Slice off both the side edge portion and cut them lengthwise into strips that are not too thin, say just like how we cut potatoes for fries. Keep this prepared ready aside.
** Note : some people scrape off the spine/ spiky skin portion or try grating it off, it is really not necessary to do so and in our community we never do that. In fact they taste great especially when fried crisp, try it and you will know for yourself.
** Heat 2 tblsp oil (tel/ tela) in a thick bottomed kadai/ pan, when hot add ½ tsp of mustard seeds (sasam/ rai) when it splutters add ½ tsp of cumin seeds (jeera) along with 8-10 peeled and chopped fine garlic (losun/ leysun) pieces. Fry for few minutes till the garlic turns slightly brown in color only and then add 2-3 green chillies (tarni mirsanga/ hari michi) finely chopped along with 8-10 fresh curry leaves (kadipatta/ karbevu) and further fry all together for a few minutes only.
** Lower heat to minimum, add ¼ tsp of haldi (turmeric) powder, ¼ tsp of hing (asafoetida) powder and 1 tblsp of kashmiri red chilly powder (kumte mirsange pitti/ tikkat/ mirchi pitti) and fry just for few seconds. Now add in the prepared and pagila pieces and mix well to get the masala evenly coated on them. Cover with a dome shaped lid, add a tblsp of water on lid and cook for few minutes. Add salt (namak/ meeta) to taste, mix well, cover and cook mixing often till 80% done.
** Add 1 tsp of coriander (dhania/ kothimbir) powder, ½ tsp cumin (jeera) powder, mix well, once again cover and cook till done stirring a few times if necessary. Avoid overcooking the pagila pieces for best taste. Lastly add ½ tsp of goda masala or garam masala powder and a pinch of sugar (sakkara/ shakkar) or jaggery powder (Gud ki pitti) (op/ I added jaggery powder) mix well cook for 5 minutes.
** Remove from fire, garnish with handful of finely chopped fresh coriander (dhania/ kothimbir) leaves, mix well and its done. If desired just before serving, you can just add in a dash of freshly squeezed juice of lemon (optional) and mix well. Some people love a little bit of tart/ khatta taste in their dishes, but here I must say I have not added any here and it was just great in taste, you may if desired.
** “Kantola Nu Shaak/ Spine Gourd Masala Bhaji” is done and ready to be served. This is a tasty side dish that tastes great served with bajri ki roti, though I served it with plain phulkas, goes well with roti or parathas too. It’s the season of pagila/ spine gourd now and the markets are flooded with large sized ones too, that’s apt for preparing this dish. Do try it out and enjoy with your family and friends. We should consume seasonal veggies for maximum health benefits as they are loaded with nutrients.
** Note : For this recipe I have used the large sized variety available these days in market which is believe is available in eastern parts of India while in the southern parts of India smaller sized ones are available which are I must say much tastier. The larger ones are soft centered with soft sort of seeds while the smaller ones have crispier textured seeds within. Both varieties can be used in preparation of this dish. I am sharing a picture of the ones widely used by us here too for reference.
** There are many more dishes prepared using “Pagila/ Spine Gourd/ Teasel Gourd/ Kantola” in my Blog for which I am sharing a common link below, you may browse through in leisure and try them out too, they are all tried and test in my kitchen and very tasty, especially the fries, which is must ….
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