Patty Pan Daal

Honestly, I was making Patty Pan Stir Fry. I thought it would taste good. As I was about to slice it, I was wondering if it is related more to the pumpkin or yellow squash. As I sliced, it reminded me of a vegetable used in South Canara/Mangalore cooking - called Magge. My grandmother used to make lipsmacking Magge Allepiyyav which was similar to this, but instead of fish, magge was used. This was especially made during auspicious months like Shravan etc, when seafood was avoided.

Anyway, I tempered this patty pan squash with Bengali panchphoran and as it was getting cooked, I think I got carried away doing something else, and it became too mushy. Now we like stir fries kinda crunchy not too mushy. But I wanted to save this stir fry. So I opened the fridge. I found boiled daal. I added it to the stir fry with some more water. it started looking promising but needed some spice, I thought. I opened the pantry & found Amma's KoLumbo masala - just 2 tbsp left, I added that too. Now when you add KoLumbo masala, you have to add tamarind too. So added that as well...Thus generated my own creation of Patty Pan Daal. Serve with just plain rice for a nice comforting meal.

Patty Pan Daal

Ingredients

2 Patty pan squash, chopped

1 tsp tamarind pulp

salt to taste

2 tbsp koLumbo Masala

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 cup boiled toor daal

Tempering

1 tsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp methi seeds

1/2 tsp kalonji

1/2 tsp badishep/fennel seeds/variyali/saunf

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

2 red, dry chilies, halved

Method

1. Heat oil. Add tempering. As the seeds splutter, add chopped patty pan.

2. Saute. Stir fry till it is cooked.

3. Add boiled daal, salt, kolumbo masala, turmeric powder. Add water to get the desired consistency. Bring to boil.

4. Let it simmer for 7-9 minutes.

5. Serve with plain rice.