Patol Posto (Parwal/pointed gourd in poppy seed paste)

This is my 150th post, another milestone achieved by me finally, just before my 2nd blog anniversary. As I was preparing to post this special post, I found that my interview has been published here, @ Cook like A Bong, where Sudeshna & Kalyan has done one survey to find out 7 best bengali food bloggers and my blog is one of them..I am so thankful to Sudeshna and Kalyan, for doing this survey. I never thought before starting this blog that, I can ever achieve something like this. This is a great achievement for me. To celebrate this special occassion, I don't have any sweet dish in my draft, so I'm posting one of my favorite dish today.......


All knows that bengalis have a love affair with Posto or poppy seeds or khus Khus. Especially me, I can't live without this spice, just love it with anything. If you ask anyone, bengali recipe of Posto or poppy seed, everybody will say ,"Aloo posto/potatoes in poppy seed paste" , as only this one is the most well known bengali posto recipe. But we, bengalis, use posto with every possible way, some of them I posted before, I"ll share another unusual/not so famous recipe of posto with Patol or pointed gourd, Which we call "Patol posto/pointed gourd in poppy seed paste". In bengali cuisine, posto is used all year round, but specially in summer it is used more, as posto has a cooling affect on body. Poppy seed has lots of medicinal properties, too..check out here.
Patol or parwal or pointed gourd is also a summer vegetable, so this recipe is a perfect recipe for Summer.

Ingredients :

Parwal/patol/pointed gourd : few
Poppy seeds : 2 tblsp.
Onion : 1(medium)
Tomato : 1 (small)
Green chilli : 1 or 2(as per taste)
Black cumin seed/kala jeera : 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder : 2 tsp.
Salt to taste
Oil : 3 tblps.

Method :

• Wash each parwal. First, trim the edges and then peel the skin every 1/2" inch apart. Apply 1 tsp. turmeric powder and a pinch of salt on all the parwals and keep them aside for 10 minutes.
• For grinding poppy seed, I use coffee grinder/dry grinder. Add 1 green chilli and poppy seed in grinder and grind. DO not make into a fine powder, it should be a coarse grind.After grinding, take out the coarsely grounded poppy seed into a bowl and mix it with 3-4 tblsp. of water.
• Heat oil in a pan, fry the pointed gourds for 2-3 minutes until light brown from all sides. Take them out.
• In the same pan, temper with black cumin seeds, then add sliced onions, fry until soft and light brown. Then add chopped tomatoes and 1 chopped green chilli. Wait until tomatoes get soft, then add poppy seed paste into it. 
• Stir so that it doesn't stick to the pan. Add 1 tsp. turmeric powder into it. Stir fry it for 1-2 minutes. When oil seperates, add fried parwals/ patols. Mix well with the spices, then pour about 1/3 cup of water. Add salt to taste. Remember, patol/parwal cook very fast.
• Let it cook in medium heat. When all water are evaporated and parwals are done, check the seasoning. This is a dry dish, so no gravy will be there. Stir for another minute or two and remove from heat. 
• Patol posto is done. Enjoy with hot rice, or even with chapathi.