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Stuffed Pointed gourd - traditional Bengali Potoler Dolma

‘Dolma’ is a Turkish word meaning ‘stuffed’ relating to Ottoman cuisine. It is generally made with a filling of meat, seafood, rice, and fruits or combining them together stuffed inside a vegetable or leaf. Historically stuffed vegetable dishes have been part of Middle Eastern cuisine for centuries. But it is unknown how and when this cuisine entered the Bengali kitchen. If we look back at our culinary history, we find its mention in Bengali kitchens much before the independence of India in 1947. ‘Dolma’ in Bengali kitchen is mostly done with the pointed gourd or ‘Potol’ as it is known in Bengali. The ‘Potol’ is scooped out of its inner seeds and contents, keeping the outer layer intact. A filling cooked with prawns or minced meat or fish is stuffed inside. Then it’s cooked into a gravy, which is called in Bengali as ‘Potoler Dolma’. Presented today is the ‘Potoler Dolma’ prepared traditionally in Bengali kitchens. Ingredients: Pointed Gourd ‘Potol’ large ones – 400 g washed an
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Black gram soup - /Bee-u-lir daal:/



Bengali lunch has always had a variety of lentils and pulses popularly known as Daal in the beginning. Red lentils, split pulses, and green grams are some of them. Today’s recipe is daal made with Biulir daal or Urad daal in Hindi and black gram in English. This is a popular cuisine on summer days with Posto as a complimentary side dish. The roots of this cuisine are rural Bengal, particularly the western arid part of Bengal – Bankura and Bardhamaan.

This daal accompanied by Posto and rice during the hot summer months of Bengal is worth a five-star lunch.

Ingredients:

Beulir Daal (broken or whole) – 200 gm washed and soaked. Dry roast it in a skillet for 3-4 mins. in low heat until it gives out the aroma.

Salt to taste.

Green pepper – 3 pcs.

Mustard Oil – 3 teaspoons.

Fennel seeds – 1 teaspoon and Ginger – 1 inch skinned and cleaned. Both ground to a paste with little water and set aside.

Bay leaf – I no.

Dried Red chilli – 3 nos.

Asafetida – 1 pinch.

 

Instructions:

Wash the roasted daal thoroughly.

Put the washed daal in a pressure cooker, add adequate water, 1 teaspoon salt, three green chillies, and 1 teaspoon of mustard oil, and put to boil for three whistles.

After three whistles put off the heat.

When it cools, open the lid and check the consistency of the daal.  It should not get lumps or turn mushy; each grain should stay separate but easy to paste between fingers.

Heat a skillet and put in 2 tablespoons of mustard oil.

In the hot oil put in 3 dried red chillies, 1 bay leaf, and ½ teaspoon fennel seeds.

Fry it all and add the Asafetida after a minute.

Pour in the boiled daal in the skillet, add the ground fennel and ginger paste and stir it all in high flame.

Adjust salt to taste and stir the daal with a ladle so that it gets sloppy.

Serve with Aloo Posto and steaming rice.

Enjoy the Bengali summer.

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