Easy Veggie Stir Fry

I have a full time passion for food together with a full time job. As a result of this my brain is constantly engaged in a whirlwind of thoughts about all the things that I have to get done in a day. Not only am I a big foodie I love to cook and bake for people who are close to my heart.

I am a Bengali and love the local cuisine. Bengali veggie dishes are ridiculously easy and simple to make but fabulously tasty. This is because minimal amount of spices are used in order to let the intrinsic flavour of the fresh vegetables shine through.

Another very important part of our cuisine is all the different vegetable dishes have an exclusive spice combination of its own. You just cannot throw in “Curry Powder” (Urggh! I do not even know what that exactly is) in a Bengali vegetable dish.

Our daily meal staple usually comprises of rice/roti(whole-wheat flatbreads), dal(lentil soup), fish/chicken in a gravy of choice and a seasonal vegetable dish. There are a thousand and one ways in which our veggies are prepared at home. Even the mundane potato can be made into a finger licking dish.

I love potatoes even though they are often demonised by weight watchers. But my relationship with them is still going strong. I remember when I was young I used to make a ruckus at meal time if the side dish of veggies did not have potatoes! How I sympathise with my sweet mother now when I think back to those days. That soft corner for potatoes is still there though.

This recipe is super duper easy and requires only a handful of ingredients. Potatoes are easily available and pointed gourds are the loveliest veggies if they are tender. I just hate the big and crunchy ones. So try to use small and tender pointed gourds in this recipe.

The star ingredient of this recipe are the poppy seeds. They add a lovely crunch and nutty flavour and is an all time favourite.

Preparation time: 5minutes.
Cooking Time: 10 to 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1. 2 large potatoes diced
2. 8 to 10 tender pointed gourds (potol/parwal)diced
3. Salt (To taste)
4. Turmeric 1 pinch
5. ¼ tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli powder
6. ¼ tsp Cumin/zeera seeds
7. 1 dry red chilli splitted
8. 1 tbsp Cold pressed Mustard Oil
9. 1 ½ tbsp poppy seeds
10. Green Chilli 2 splitted

Method:
• Wash the veggies thoroughly
• Peel and dice the potatoes.

• Peel and cut the pointed gourds into roundells.(peeling and cutting part you can take help like I do)

• In a saucepan add the mustard oil and heat it till it smokes.

• Add the split dry red chilli and the cumin seeds and hear them crackle
• Then add the potatoes and stir well.

• Add the salt, turmeric and red chilli powder and mix with the potatoes.
• Then add the poppy seeds and as the potatoes are still moist at this stage the poppy seeds will stick to them.

• After 2 to 3 minutes add the pointed gourds and mix.

• Now cover and let the veggies get cooked at low heat.
• Keep stirring intermittently so that there is no burning at the bottom.
• If your veggies are not cooked by their own steam which will be generated on covering, you can sprinkle some water.
• When both the veggies are soft but not mushy remove the cover and fry at high flame for 2 to 3 minutes to get the veggies slightly crisp in the outer layer.

• Then add the split green chillis and remove from heat.
• Voila! Your easy peasy super tasty stir fried veggie dish is ready to be served.
• It tastes awesome with steamed rice and moong dal/ yellow lentil soup.

P.S
1. If you cant get pointed gourds you can make this dish only with potatoes and that tastes pretty great too!
2 You can increase or decrease the chilli content according to your taste.