Turai Alu in Poppy seeds gravy

I was chatting with my mom over the phone .... And as usual I came up with my favorite question'What did you cook today'?. 'Janhi Alu Posto (Janhi = Turai), your favorite',Mom said. I was already drooling over the phone. Either I have to be with her to relish it - which was not feasible or I could borrow the recipe and try it out ! I had no choice but to go with the second option.

I quickly grabbed a piece of paper and jotted down the recipe. So this weekend when I was grocery shopping, I picked up Turai. I could not wait till I tried it out.

I believe the only ingredient that was missing from this curry was the love of my mother, else it tasted good.

Preparation Time - 40 minutes

Serves - 3

Ingredients

Turai - 2 medium size

Onion - 1 medium size

Potato - 1 medium size

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp

Poppy Seeds - 4 tsp

Green Chillies - 3

Kala Jeera - 1/2 tsp

Fennel Seeds - 1 pinch

Methi Seeds - 1 pinch

Turmeric Powder - 1 big pinch

Oil for cooking

Salt per taste

Method of Preparation

1 Peel and chop the Turai and Potato into long pieces (like french fries).Toss them into a bowl of water.Coarsely chop onions and keep aside.

2 Make the masala by grinding the Mustard, Poppy and Cumin Seeds along with green chillies. Make sure it becomes a paste and is not much watery. (1.5 tsp Mustard seeds + 1 tsp Cumin Seeds + 4 tsp Poppy Seeds).

3 Heat oil ( 3 tsp approx) in a kadhai. When hot, add the remaining cumin, mustard,fennel, methi and black jeera to sputter.(Add panch phoran instead).

4 Add onions and fry till translucent. Add the chopped potatoes to it. Add turmeric powder and saute for 5 minutes. Pour about 2/3 cup of water and cover the kadhai. Allow the potatoes to get partially cooked.

5 Now add the Turai. Add salt and mix well.

6 Take the Masala paste and add to it.

7 Let it simmer till the turai and potatoes get cooked.

8 Cook till all the moisture gets absorbed.

Serving Tips

Serve Hot with Rice or Chapatti

Notes

Turai get cooked faster than Potatoes, so make sure you semi cook the potatoes before adding Turai.

This is a dry gravy curry, so add minimum water needed for cooking.

Variation

If you like it more spicy add more green chillies.

You may also make the masala with Poppy seeds, green chillis and cumin seeds. (Exclude mustard seeds).

Use Panch Phoran instead of individual spices to sputter.

Other Names

Turai Alu in Poppy seeds gravy - Janhi Alu Posto, Cumin Seeds - Jeera, Mustard Seeds - Sarso/Rai, Kala Jeera - Black Cumin Seeds, MethI Seeds - Fenugreek Seeds, Fennel Seeds - Saunf

Turai - Janhi/ Ribbed Gourd