Pointed gourd stuffed with shrimp, potol chingri dolma, is an old favourite of Bengali kitchens. Shahnaz Setu gave this recipe in Prothom Alo. You need 8 to 10 pointed gourds, small shrimp, cashew nuts, a tablespoon of poppy seeds and white mustard seeds, onion, ginger and garlic, green chillies, turmeric, chilli, cumin, coriander, salt, oil, a quarter teaspoon of garam masala and fresh coriander leaves.
For the filling, remove the heads and tails of the small shrimp and wash them. Soak and grind the cashews, poppy seeds and mustard seeds. Fry onion in a tablespoon of oil, add ginger and garlic, green chilli, turmeric, a little chilli, the cashew paste and salt, cook the masala and add the shrimp. Do not cook the shrimp for more than two or three minutes, or the filling turns hard. Finish with a pinch of garam masala, take it off the heat and let it cool.
To prepare the gourds, trim both ends and lightly scrape the skin. Scoop out the seeds and soft flesh with a thin spoon and pack the hollow with the shrimp filling. The cook suggests mixing the scooped-out flesh into the filling as it cooks.
Press the ends lightly to close the gourds and fry them gently in oil, then set them aside. In the same pan, cook onion, ginger and garlic, turmeric, cumin, coriander and chilli with a splash of water until the oil separates from the spices.
Arrange the fried gourds in the pan, add one and a half cups of hot water, cover and cook on a low flame for 10 to 12 minutes. Scatter coriander leaves, turn off the heat and serve.
Pointed gourds and small local shrimp are both easy to find in markets in early autumn, which makes this a good time for the dish.
This recipe is based on Shahnaz Setu's recipe in Prothom Alo.
Photo: Biswarup Ganguly / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
Source: Prothom Alo
Comments
(0)