New and improvised - Stuffed Parwal in a nutty gravy

Today's post is totally an innovation for me. Traditionally Parwal(pointed gourd) or Potol as we bengalis call it is cooked in many ways. One very common way is to do it stuffed with various kind of fillings. I have eaten stuffed parwal many a times and this dish is an improvisation based on all those dishes.Normally one would cook it in an onion tomato gravy. What I have done here is stuffed the parwal with a paneer filling and then simmered it in a gravy made of nuts ( almond, cashews and magaj dana)

Ingredients:

Parwal (pointed gourd)  - 4 medium sized

Paneer - half cup

Salt - to taste

Sugar - a pinch

Ghee - half tsp

For the gravy:

Almond paste - 2 tbsp

Cashew paste - 2 tbsp

Pumpkin seeds(magaj dana paste- 2 tbsp ( just soak all the nuts in warm water for 5 mins and grind in a mixie)

Ghee - 1 tsp

Bay leaves -2 nos

Cardamom - 2 nos

Cloves - 2 nos

Cinnamon - 1 small stick

Raisins - 1 tbsp

Turmeric - a pinch

Kashmiri red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Sugar - a pinch

Method:

For the stuffed parwal:

Lightly peel the outer skin of the parwal and blanch it in boiling salted water.

Remove and let it cool for a while.

Now the tricky bit ...using a knife scoop out the inside flesh.Make sure the parwals are intact or the filling would ooze out.

For the stuffing:

In a pan heat the ghee , add the crumbled paneer and salt and sugar.Toss till it gets a light brown colour.You could add raisins and nuts here too but i skipped that.

Now we need to stuff the parwal with this stuffing. Use your hands and its very easy.

Ok so the next step is to fry these in some oil and keep aside. In a non stick pan heat a little oil and fry the stuffed parwal till they are light brown in colour.

Now lets move on to making the gravy which is super simple! In a pan heat the ghee, splutter the cardamom , cloves, bayleaves and cinnamon. Next tip in the almond , cashew and magaz dana paste.

Fry well for 5-7 mins till it starts to leave oil on the sides. Now add the turmeric powder , red chili powder,raisins, salt and sugar.

Add a cup of warm water and let the gravy simmer for 2 mins before adding the fried stuffed parwals.

Cover and let it simmer for 10 to 15 mins. Once done ,remove from heat and serve with hot rice.