Jhinge Posto – Bengali Ridge Gourd With Poppy Seeds Paste | Turai Posto

Jhinge Posto made with ridge gourd and poppy seeds paste is a Bengali niramish ranna recipe. A traditional dish in most Bengali households, ridge gourd posto is a vegetarian preparation that goes well with Biulir dal.

Jhinge Posto

In Bengali, ridge gourd is called Jhinge and sounds quite similar to the Hindi word Jhinga, meaning prawns. Well this dark green ridged vegetable with white flesh and seeds is no way close to those swimming crustaceans.

The dark green vegetable goes by different names – Luffa, Chinese Okra and Sponge Gourd. The vegetable when fully ripened, becomes fibrous. The dried vegetable can then be used as a loofah or sponge.

A member of the cucumber family, ridged gourd has high moisture content and low saturated fats. The succulent, juicy gourd is a rich source of dietary fibre and serves as an excellent weight loss food.

Jhinge or Turai (Hindi) is cooked in posto or poppy seed paste (khuskhus in Hindi) and it’s normally served as a dry accompaniment with rice and curries. Turai cooked with khuskhus paste pairs well with plain rice or chapatti.

Bengali Jhinge Posto Recipe Step By Step:

Anything cooked with posto (poppy seeds) takes on a different dimension. You can cook most vegetables with posto bata. Posto with ridge gourd is an irresistible combination. The poppy seeds give a rich creamy texture to the turai sabzi

To make Bengali Ridge Gourd Posto, firstly soak poppy seeds in warm water for 15 minutes. Then grind the poppy seeds to a smooth paste with green chilli and very little water. Keep aside.

Next, wash, peel and cut the ridge gourd into ¼ inch pieces.

Heat oil in a frying pan. Add the onion seeds and allow to splutter.
Then add the ridge gourd pieces and sauté for a couple of minutes on medium heat.

Next add turmeric powder and salt and combine well.

Cook the ridge gourd till all the water evaporates.

Add the posto paste and simmer for 1-2 minutes.

Finally, mix in some mustard oil and remove the ridge gourd posto.

Serve Bengali Jhinge Posto with steamed rice and dal.

If you are looking for more ridge gourd/posto recipes, do try out Beerakaya Kobbari and Posto Bora.

Turai Posto Recipe details below:

Jhinge Posto

Jhinge Posto is a popular Bengali side dish recipe. Ridge gourd simmered in thick khus khus paste is a simple sabzi with amazing flavours, although minimal spices are used. The mustard oil imparts a sharp flavour to ridge gourd posto.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Bengali

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Servings 3

Calories 39kcal

Author Shil

Ingredients

Ridge gourd/Jhinge – 4
Poppy seeds – 2 tbsp
Green chilli -1
Kala jeera/Onion seeds – ¼ tsp
Salt – ¼ tsp
Turmeric – 1/8th tsp
White oil – ½ tbsp
Mustard oil – ¼ tsp

Instructions

Wash and peel the ridge gourd. Cut into ¼” pieces.
Soak the poppy seeds in warm water for about 15 minutes and then grind to a thick paste with green chilli, using very little water (the longer you soak khuskhus, the easier it is to grind). Traditionally, a shil nora or a flat stone mortar and pestle is used to grind poppy seeds.
Heat oil in a kadai and temper with kala jeera.
When it starts to splutter, add the cut ridge gourd pieces and sauté for 1-2 minutes.
Sprinkle salt and turmeric. Stir well and cook uncovered for 10 minutes on medium heat. The ridge gourd will release a lot of water so there’s no need to add water.
Once all the moisture has evaporated and the jhinge is cooked, tip in the posto paste.
Mix well and simmer for 1-2 minutes, stirring continuously till the poppy seed paste is well incorporated.
Drizzle some mustard oil on top of the turai posto and remove.
Serve Bengali Jhinge Posto with rice and dal.