The scnario of Assamese village beautifully described by poet late Ananda Chandra Agarwala in the poem"amar gaon"(our village).In every assamese villaga it can be seen that white gourd(komora),bottle gourd(lau),ridge gourd(jika),loofah gourd(bhol)etc grown over the roof whether it is thatched,handmade tiles,asbestos or GI sheet from poor to rich household.Among those gourds white gourd or komora bears maximum shelf life.Komora in assamese ,chalkumur in bengali also called as winter gourd ,wax gourd,ash gourd,white gourd is an incredibly versatile vegetable which is packed with nutrients.Every part of this plant from tender leaf,shoot,tendrils to matured ripen fruit alongwith seeds are eatable.But as a child this whitegourd was undesirable vegetable which was cooked with fish or stir fried .Later on ,of course,I developed a palate for leafy saag,shoots cooked with other veggies as chorchori and actually began to enjoy...My mother used to preserve ripen ,matured whitegourd for preparing "morabba",which is known as "petha"in north India.But those homemade morabba was slightly differ from petha.Preperation of morabba is a lengthy process.It takes whole two or three days and needs pre-preperation.
Delicious halowa can be prepared by grating and boiling whitegourds mixing with sugar ,refined oil or ghee;cook till oil comes out.Garnish with a handful of nut.
In eastern,northern Assam and other parts matured white or ashgourd are preserved upto the month of kati(last part of october and first part of november) .It is like a feast to eat whitegourd with duck meat.Hah-komora is a famous delicacy.Assamese cuisine is incomplete without it.
As the present season is for growing whitegourd ,my kitchen garden also boastfully declares presence of this versatile veggi..My experiment also going on to create recipes with this..So let's try
Tender whitegourd leaf fritters with poppy seed
Ingredients:
A bunch of fresh tender whitegourd leaf
Poppy seeds -2 Tablespoon
Green chilly as required
Salt as required
For batter
Rice powder-2Tablespoon
Cornflour -1Tablespoon
Salt-1teaspoon
Turmeric powder-a pinch of
Chilly powder-1/2teaspoon
Ajwain powder-1/2teaspoon(optional)
Fresh tender leaf of komora pat wash thoroughly.keep aside.
In an another bowl soak poppy seed in water.Strain ,mix with chilly salt and grind together to make fine paste.
Prepare batter with all ingredients
Put one leaf in a plate ,spread the poppy seed paste.Again keep another leaf over it.Repeat 3or 4 leaf.Bind sides with tooth pick.Dip in batter and fry.Fry carefully so that green colour of the leaf remain same.
Hope this undesirable veggie would be enjoyed by children.If you enjoy it ...Read..Subscribe...Share my blog love cooking with gulshan...
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