This Potoler Khosa Bata uses discarded pointed gourd peels and grinds them into a coarse mix before frying them with mild spices. Usually, when we make pointed gourd recipes or potol er torkari, the vegetable is peeled in stripes, and the peels are usually discarded, as they are quite rough in texture. For this potoler khosa bata, we are going to save those discarded peels and then grind them. This serves as a dryish niramish side dish to steaming hot rice.
Bengali cuisine is truly unique because not only do we use local and seasonal ingredients for niramish ranna recipes, but we often use up these vegetables in their totality. Even their peels and some other discarded parts. These peels usually contain high levels of vitamins, minerals, and dietary fibres. In this blog post, I have charted out the detailed recipe for potoler bharta, another name for this potoler khosa bata, along with a few more khosa bata recipes.
Potol er Khosa Bata recipe ingredients
- Pointed Gourd peel & fleshy centre including seeds
- Bottle Gourd (Lauki/Lau) & Potato (Aloo) Peels – optional
- Garlic
- Green Chilies
- Salt & Sugar
- Turmeric Powder
- Nigella Seeds or Kalonji (Kalo Jeere)
The key to this dish, পটলের খোসা বাটা, other than potoler khosa or pointed gourd peels, is the quantity of garlic and green chillies that goes into it. It gives a delicious twist to the dish, which masks the flavour of the veggie, which is often a deterrent to those who aren’t much of a fan of this veggie.
Recipe instructions for Potol er Khosa Bata
- Gather the peels and fleshy insides of the pointed gourd or potol. Here, I have also added the peels of potatoes and a young bottle gourd
- Grind it into a coarse mix along with garlic and green chilies
- Heat a relatively generous amount of mustard oil in a pan and add some nigella seeds to it
- As they start to crackle, add the coarsely ground paste of peels
- Add salt, turmeric powder, and sugar and fry it till it reduces in quantity and starts releasing oil at the edges. You will see that as it fries, it will turn a shade darker and dry up
- Serve it hot with rice and other side dishes for a traditional Bengali meal
Why will you love this পটলের ভর্তা (potoler bharta) recipe?
- Rich in nutrients. Potol, or pointed gourd, is an excellent source of vitamins A, C, and E, which support the overall immune function of the body. The peels also comprise the same nutrients in addition to dietary fibres
- Helps you make budget meals. It helps you use up the entire vegetable, with very little going to the waste bin. Now, why would Bengalis use peels to cook a dish? Keep reading below
- Keeps gut health good. With high dietary fibres, khosa bata recipes like this one help the bowel movement be clean
- Weight Management: With a low-calorie content and high fiber, the potoler khosa bata recipe helps in managing weight by promoting a feeling of fullness and reducing overall calorie intake
Discarded peel as an ingredient? Khosa bata recipe is unique yet delicious.
When it comes to Bengali cuisine, it offers a wide range of easy Bengali niramish ranna recipes with varied flavours and textures. Besides the local and seasonal vegetables, often the peels and insides of the vegetables are also used up.
Whether you follow a vegetarian lifestyle or simply enjoy exploring new culinary experiences, authentic Bengali niramish recipes like this potoler khosa bata offer a unique peek into rich & varied Indian vegetarian recipes.
Till a few years back, Bengali households would often comprise multi-generational families living under the same roof and coming together for almost 5 meals a day. Feeding such huge families would be an even bigger challenge for the ladies of the family to come up with interesting yet budget-friendly meals.
So, it was one of the top priorities for them to cook dishes which would be highly nutritious for the whole family, often comprising members ranging in age from 8 to 80! And quite often they would also cook up the peels to minimise wastage.
More vegetable peel recipes
- Kanchkolar Khosa Bata Recipe
- Lau er Khosa Torkari – Bekla Chorchori
- Aloo r Khosa Bhaja
More Bengali vegetarian side dishes
- Aloo Potol er Chorchori | Bengali Parwal Sabji
- Bengali Jhinge Aloo Posto Recipe | Turai ki Sabji
- Korma-style Kathal Ki Sabji Recipe
- Niramish Kanchkolar Kofta Curry Recipe
- Kathal Bichir Tarkari Shorshe Bata Diye Recipe
- Niramish Bandhakopir Tarkari Recipe
- Niramish Mochar Ghonto Recipe | Bengali Banana Blossom Curry
- Doi Lau | Dahi Lauki Recipe
- Lauki Kofta Curry Recipe
Ready to cook? Pin this recipe, share it with friends, and explore more Bengali classics on our blog. Happy cooking!
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This Potoler Khosa Bata uses discarded pointed gourd peel and grind it into a course mix before frying it with mild spices.
- 2 cups Pointed Gourd peel & fleshy centre including seeds
- 1 cup Bottle Gourd Lauki/Lau & Potato (Aloo) Peels optional
- 10-12 nos Garlic
- 4 nos Green Chilies Adjust as per taste
- Salt & Sugar As per taste
- ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
- ¼ tsp Nigella Seeds or Kalonji Kalo Jeere
- 3 tbsp Mustard Oil
- Gather the peels and fleshy insides of the pointed gourd or potol. Here, I have also added the peels of potatoes and a young bottle gourd
- Grind it into a coarse mix along with garlic and green chilies
- Heat a relatively generous amount of mustard oil in a pan and add some nigella seeds to it
- As they start to crackle, add the coarsely ground paste of peels
- Add salt, turmeric powder and sugar and fry it till it reduces in quantity and starts releasing oil at the edges. You will see that as it fries, it will turn a shade darker and dry up
Serve it hot with rice and other side dishes for a traditional Bengali meal
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