Aloo Parval Subzi (Potato & Pointed Gourd Subzi)

I saw the movie "Piku" yesterday. A touching film about a father and daughter's relationship .

I was my father's loving daughter . He had the hope and confidence to teach me a lot of things 

swimming, hockey, public speaking, French conversation, the courses were all lined up for me and 'no' was not an answer my daddy would accept. My brother was just the opposite he would unknowingly act in ways that would dis-appoint my daddy and their relationship drifted to a point of no return. After my mother's death, daddy started living with me and here starts "Piku"s story. Daddy was Prabhakar close to Bhaskor (in the movie Piku) and in mood swings and health matter's Bhaskor's twin. Visits to doctors was a routine, each morning he would wake up with a new medical problem and insist on a medical trip. His favorite food was a box of medicines and he was okay for his age except he was bed ridden after a hip injury. But this dependance on someones support landed us in many odd situations when he would not agree to the helps we hired and would ask for change untill one day I was left alone to look after him. He desired to buy a motorised wheel chair and roam around the streets of Mumbai like Bhaskor did on his bicycle. Only this time I was adamant and would not let him have his way. He had strong food preferences too. The temperature of the food served had to be hot or he would return the dish and refuse to eat. On many occasions I had seen my mother warm up his Dal midway in the meal, so that it was pipping hot when he poured it on rice after eating his chappati.

Parval was one vegetable he never wished to see. Once he even warned me never to buy that vegetable.

The irony was its my husbands favorite so unknown to daddy and for the love of Shubir I would quietly cook it and serve him.

This recipe he enjoys because I then don't have to cook Dal.

Ingredients:

• 6-7 parvals.
• 2 potatoes.
• 2 medium tomatoes.
• 1 tsp ginger chopped.
• 1 tsp coriander powder.
• 1 tsp jeera powder.
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder.
• 1/2 tsp panch phoran ( mix of jeera, mustard seeds, kalonji, methi seeds, and fennel seeds in equal quantities.)
• Pinch of hing.
• 1/2 tsp haldi.
• 1 tsp sugar.
• Salt to taste

Method :

• Cut the vegetables in quarters.
• Blanch the tomatoes and puree them with the ginger.
• Heat a pan and add mustard oil about 2 tbsp heat till smoking point.
• Add the panch phoran and hing.
• Add the vegetables and stir fry for 5mins.
• Add the dry masalas and salt and 1 tsp sugar mix for a min.
• Add the tomato puree and 1cup water and let it cook covered till vegetables are cooked
• Serve with Roti.

Like Bhashkor, Daddy bid me Good Bye in his sleep. Indeed a rude shock when I went to wake him up.

It was 'Raksha Bandhan' and his younger sister had come to tie Rakhi.

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