Podale Cutlets – Stuffed Snake Gourd

Preparing the gourd: Wash the Snake gourd, gently peel or scrape some of its skin. Trim the edges, cut them into 4 big pieces. Gently run a sharp knife around the spongy stuff inside the gourd and see that its slips off, making a long hollow cylinder. If you wish you can quickly blanch in hot water to cook the gourd partially, just for few minutes to ensure it becomes soft but firm. This step is optional, ignore if you prefer little crunchier skin.

Stuffing (table-1): Wash and peel the skin off the potatoes and boil them until soft. Drain the water and retain the cooked potatoes. In a frying pan, heat oil, splutter cumin seeds, fry the chopped onions, minced green chilies and garlic till soft. Add the cooked potatoes along with turmeric and salt. Mash them with a spatula and fry until it becomes a thick mass. Sprinkle little coriander leaves and let cool completely. Now take little potato mixture and stuff those pre-cut gourds as shown and cut them into 3/4″ pieces and keep aside. Use a sharp knife or else things will get real messy.

Flour mixture (table-2): In a bowl combine gram flour, rice flour, red chili powder, turmeric powder, asafoetida and salt. Coat each stuffed piece with the flour mixture as shown and keep them ready.

Final frying : Heat oil a large non-stick frying pan and line each piece leaving little space between them. Keep the flame little over low , cover and cook them for 3 minutes. Now sprinkle little water, flip them to the other side, cover and cook for another 3 minutes. With mature gourds, it could take little longer. Fry until the outer turns crispy and brown. Sprinkle with coriander leaves and serve as an appetizer with choice of sauce or serve as a side for rice.