Shahi Parwal/Royal Ivy Gourd Curry

Shahi Parwal is a traditional Bengali curry made using fried parwal/ivy gourd/tendli & is very delicious to eat. Simple yet tasty meal for the whole family! 

Parwal/Tendli/Ivy Gourd is a vegetable that is not so loved by all, at-least the people I know are not a huge fan of it. However, I personally think that this vegetable is highly underrated. It is so versatile and can be used in many recipes. Tondli/Ivy Gourd Rice, Tindora & Chickpea Curry cooked with Coconut, Sesame flavored Ivy Gourd with Potatoes are just some examples on how to cook them. The recipe that I have for you today is a traditional Bengali dish. It’s got the tag ‘Shahi’ attached to it because of the richness in its gravy which comes due to cashews. The curry is creamy in texture and gives it a restaurant quality. 

Bengali cuisine commonly uses poppy seeds in its cooking. This seed is the spice, loved for its nutty aroma and taste. It is popularly used for adding a rich texture and flavor to dishes, as well as for its medicinal properties. This recipe too calls for suing poppy seeds. There are also many health benefits for consuming Parwal/Ivy Gourd/Pointed Gourd. Its help in digestion, weight loss and according to Ayurveda, it has the ability to enhance your immunity and interestingly is also an aphrodisiac. Now that is good to know! My mom would make a simple curry using it along with Indian spices. We would eat it with chapati. It is an excellent lunch box recipe as well. 

I love preparing easy dinner recipes and am always on the lookout to try meals from different cuisines. Shahi Parwal is a first from Bengali cuisine on the blog. So far I have made Kolhapuri Green Masala Egg Curry from Kolhapur, Sultani Dal from Lucknowi cuisine, Tindora & Chickpea Curry cooked with Coconut from Mangalorean cuisine, Chickpea Stir Fry/Tawa Chole from Punjab, Kashmiri Dahi Baingan from Kashmir and Mini Masala Idli from Chennai. It’s amazing how each part of India has its own style of cooking, its unique choice of spices and seasonings to make a winning dish or a wholesome meal. Every cuisine brings something new to the dining table which surely makes the culinary experience more enjoyable. I am thankful to be a part of India and witness all these wonderful cuisines firsthand. 

Shahi Parwal is a dish that you can make for your friends and family on any day of the week. In fact you can surprise everyone by making this dish that has a restaurant feel to it but is made of parwal which many may not prefer. But I assure you that once they taste this dish, they too will become of fan of this vegetable and this dish like me! Without much ado, let me show you the recipe. First boil onions and tomatoes with water and little salt for 7-8 minutes. Strain and let it cool down. Add them to the mixer grinder along with cashews and poppy seeds and splitz to a smooth paste. Wash the parwal and slit them in halves. You can also use frozen ivy gourd for this recipe. 

Heat oil in frying pan and fry the chopped parwal till they turn light golden brown. Take it out on a paper towel to soak the excess oil. In another pan, heat oil. Temper mustard seeds and then add the whole spices like bay leaf, cloves and cinnamon. Fry for a minute. Then add the ground paste and saute for 3-4 minutes, till the raw smell goes. 

Now add the dry spice powders like turmeric powder and chilly powder. Next add the fried parwal and salt. Mix it all together and let it cook for another 3-4 minutes. Lastly add ghee and take it off the flame. 

Shahi Parwal is now ready. Wasn’t that simple and easy to make? 

Serve it with roti/chapati/bread/rice. This masala gravy is very delicious and the parwal makes it even more sumptuous. Although we had it with chapati, I think it would taste the best when served with rice. My Bengali friend shared this recipe with me. It is one of her favorite curries and her mom makes this dish whenever they have guests over who always end up licking their fingers off after eating this dish. 

Shahi Parwal/Royal Ivy Gourd

Shahi Parwal is a traditional Bengali curry made using fried parwal/ivy gourd/tendli & is very delicious to eat. Simple yet tasty meal for the whole family! 

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Author: Priya Lakshminarayan

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large onion
• 2-3 to matoes
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 2-3 tbsp poppy seeds
• 3 cups chopped parwal
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp chilly powder
• 1 tbsp ghee
• Oil for frying
• Salt as required
• 1 tbsp oil

INSTRUCTIONS

• First boil onions and tomatoes with water and little salt for 7-8 minutes. Strain and let it cool down. Add them to the mixer grinder along with cashews and poppy seeds and splitz to a smooth paste. Wash the parwal and slit them in halves. You can also use frozen ivy gourd for this recipe.
• Heat oil in frying pan and fry the chopped parwal till they turn light golden brown. Take it out on a paper towel to soak the excess oil. In another pan, heat oil. Temper mustard seeds and then add the whole spices like bay leaf, cloves and cinnamon. Fry for a minute. Then add the ground paste and saute for 3-4 minutes, till the raw smell goes.
• Now add the dry spice powders like turmeric powder and chilly powder. Next add the fried parwal and salt. Mix it all together and let it cook for another 3-4 minutes. Lastly add ghee and take it off the flame.
• Shahi Parwal is now ready.

When you serve this meal for dinner today, I know for sure that your family will be pleasantly surprised. No one expects a parwal dish to look like this. Like me, you too would have had a regular sabzi using this ivy gourd. However this dish kicks it many notches above. The flavors are in abundance and this curry is bound to awaken your palate. 

If you do try this recipe, please do share it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. This will keep me motivated to develop more interesting recipes. Click a pic and post it with the hashtag #cookiliciousveg . I would love to see your pictures on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter!