Potala Rasa Recipe (Oriya Style Parval Sabzi)

Potala as you all know is the Odia name for Parwal or Pointed Gourd and Rasa means gravy. In this recipe, Parwal is cooked with coconut, poppy seed and cashew nut gravy and all spices to give the dish a rich feel. This curry is mainly made during religious festivals when the uses of onion and garlic food is prohibited. The stuffing makes it irresistible for kids to say no to this. Course : Lunch Ingridients : 8 Pointed gourd (Parval) 1 Bay leaf (tej patta) 1/4 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera) , for tempering 1 cup Homemade tomato puree 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder (Haldi) 1/4 teaspoon Red Chilli powder 15 Cashew nuts , soaked and ground to paste Salt , to taste Oil , for cooking  To be ground to paste 1 inch Ginger , finely chopped 3 Cardamom (Elaichi) Pods/Seeds 1 inch Cinnamon Stick (Dalchini) 4 Cloves (Laung) 2 Green Chillies , finely chopped 1/4 cup Fresh coconut , grated 2 teaspoons Poppy seeds For the stuffing 1 cup Chenna (Homemade Cottage Cheese) 1 tablespoon Coriander (Dhania) Leaves , finely chopped 1 teaspoon Whole Black Peppercorns , freshly ground 1 Green Chilli , finely chopped 1 tablespoon Sultana Raisins , roughly chopped Salt , to taste For garnishing Coriander (Dhania) Leaves , a bunch, chopped Instructions To begin making the Potala Rasa recipe, prep all the ingredients and keep it ready for cooking.Blend the ingredients to be made into a paste in a mixer grinder. Add little water if required to make a paste.Wash and clean the parwals. Scrape the whole skin of the parwals with a knife. Cut one tip a little, right from the edge and the other tip a little bigger, so that we can scoop out the seeds from inside. Rub with a pinch of salt and keep aside for 5-10 minutes.Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok/kadhai, fry the parwals or potals until lightly brown from all sides, keep aside.Prepare the parwal stuffing by mixing together crumbled paneer, green chillies, raisins, black pepper powder, salt and coriander leaves and keep aside.When parwals are cooled, stuff each one with the prepared filling. Carefully fill the parwals and try not to break them apart. Keep aside.To prepare the gravy, in the same pan, add a little more oil and once hot, add the bay leaf and the cumin seeds and once it starts to splutter add the ground masala paste. Saute until the raw smell goes away. This will take about 4 to 5 minutes on medium heat.Add the turmeric powder, salt, chili powder and saute in the masala for a few more seconds.Stir in the tomato puree, cashew paste and give is good stir to and a brisk boil. Add the about 1 cup of water to make it a gravy like consistency. Check the salt and spices and adjust to suit your taste.Place the stuffed parwal into the tomato gravy, turn the heat to low, cover the pan and simmer for a few minutes.Once done, turn off the heat, stir in the coriander leaves and serve.Serve Potala Rasa along with Tawa Paratha, Phulka or Steamed Rice for a delicious weekday lunch or dinner.