Kantola Nu Shak - Monsoon Special Recipe

Kantola Nu Shak - Monsoon Special Recipe

            A change in season brings with it a variety of fruits and vegetables that are available only for those few months. May it be ripe mangoes in summer or shalgam in winters, these seasonal produces are a treat to enjoy. When moonsoons finally arrive, a very special vegetable starts appearing in a vegetable vendor's display. Kantola (or Spiny Gourd) is a green vegetable with a resemblance similar to bitter gourd. Its colour changes for dark green to light green and eventually yellow, by which it is overripe and too bitter.

           Although available for a short period of time, the vegetable is abundant in health benefits. Pregnant women should include fresh green pods of Kantola for essential cell growth and reproduction. Even people diagnosed with type-2 Diabetes benefit from consuming this vegetable since it helps reduce blood sugar level. From improving digestion to helping remove kidney stones, treating a cough to making you look young and ageless, Kantola can basically do everything!

INGREDIENTS:

• 500gm Kantola (Spiny Gourd)
• 2 tbsp Oil
• Salt, as required 
• 4 tsp Sugar
• Few Cashew Nuts,chopped
• Few Raisins
• ½ spoon Rai (Mustard Seeds)
• Pinch of Hing (Asafoetida) Powder
• 1/2 cup Milk
• Pinch of Haldi (Turmeric) Powder
• Red Chilli Powder, as required
• 1 tbsp Dhania-Jeera (Coriander-Cumin) Powder

METHOD:

1. Cut kantola in thin, round slices. Wash and drain. Rub with salt and sugar and keep aside for half an hour.

2. Heat oil in a pan. Add rai, hing, cashews, raisins and stir well. Add in the kantola along with the water that has come out due to the salt and sugar. 

3. Add haldi powder. Cover the pan with a lid and let the dish cook on a medium flame. Stir occasionally.

4. Once 3/4th cooked, add in the milk. Cook till all the water and milk get absorbed.

5. Add red chilli powder as required and the dhania jeera powder and mix well. Serve with hot puris or rotis.

                                                                                                                                          EnjoyFood!