Parwal Bhaji

My cooking has almost come to a standstill. Breakfasts usually and the occasional curry or rice is about the extent of my cooking these days. We have a nice lady now who does all the lunch/dinner stuff for us. She often needs direction and has had quite a few misses. But of course, I'm not complaining! This bhaji here is one of her hits. Very simple to make and tastes really good. It was the first time I had this vegetable called Parwal or Potol. It looks similar to tindora but is much bigger. It is from the gourd family and is also known as pointed gourd. Check Wiki for more info on this.



Ingredients:

6 Parwals
2-3 dried red chilies
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp grated coconut
1/5 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cooking oil
salt and jaggery to taste



Method:

Peel the skin of the parwals. Slit lengthwise and remove the seeds inside. Cut into long, thin strips.
Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. When they start to crackle, add the chilies, the chopped parwal and turmeric. Saute for a few seconds.
Add a few tsps of water and salt. Cover and cook on low until soft.
Add jaggery (or brown sugar) and grated coconut and cook for a minute more. Serve with rotis.