3 ways to cook Potol (Achocha)




Introduction
Potol is a vegetable native to India, Pakistan and Latin America and it is also named as Achocha, Pointed Gourd, and Parwal. It produces hundreds of green vegetables from June through to the last frosts. At the end of the season, you will have lots of Potol to use and store for the winte. You can freeze the fruit – see more below but in this article, let me give you 3 recipes for Potol soup, fried Potol and Potol chutney.

What is Potol?
Your first question may be, what is Potol? For an answer to this, and how to grow Potol, please see my article about Potol in 2021.

How to prepare Potol
You do not need to remove the skin as it cooks beautifully and adds its fresh green colour to any recipe. However, you do need to remove the seeds so cut the fruit lengthways and you will see the exotic-looking seeds. Remove these if you want to save some seeds for next year and dry them.

TIP: There is a transparent liquid inside the fruit which is gorgeous cooked into any dish so hold the fruit over the pan and allow it to drain in.

1. Potol soup
You will need:
5-6 ripe Potol fruits, 3 cloves of garlic, and one small onion, salt and pepper, bay leaves, a sprig of thyme and some turmeric.
To serve: Natural yogurt and parsley.
Method:
Cut the end of the fruit first, then slice lengthways and avoid destroying the black or brown seeds inside. Remove the seeds (for use as seeds or in cooking) and chop the rest of the fruit into strips. Fry them gently with a little onion and then add some water. Cook with a bay leaf, a clove of garlic and some thyme for about 20 mins. If you like turmeric this adds a fantastic colour to this soup. Whizz the mixture with a blender until it is a good consistency and serve with natural yogurt, grated cheese and parsley for garnish.

TIP: this soup freezes well so you can enjoy soup when the vegetable has died off for the winter.soup once cooked and then defrost it when you fancy fresh green soup in a cold winter.

2. Fried potol

These soft fleshy vegetables are unusual in the UK but you can cook them and add them to anything that requires a green vegetable. Chop the fruit in half and remove the seeds, cut them into smaller strips and add them to any green vegetable dish They are very soft and easy to eat, flavoured simply without any strong taste so they will absorb the juices of whichever pot they cook them in.

3. Potol chutney
You will need:
As many Potol fruit as you have available. Sugar – will preserve the mixture so be generous, at least 10-20 grams per weight of fruit. 2-3 cloves. 1 Bay leaf. Any windfall apples available. Cinnamon stick. Salt and pepper to taste.
How to cook Potol chutney.
If you add some spicy sauces, Potol chutney is a winner in my house! Start with some chopped onion, add some garlic and some chopped chili. Fry these for a few minutes and then add spices of your choice. With windfall apples cooked and added into this mixture the resulting chutney and sweet hints and uses up the apples. Add some cloves for extra flavour and experiment with salt and pepper to find your preferred taste. The thing about Potol is that the fruit is so abundant, you can try several different types of chutney.

Conclusion
If like me, you grow this unusual vegetable in the UK, you will be saving seeds to give to your family and friends. Potol is cooked all over Asia and Latin America so I hope these 3 recipes will help you to start developing your own. Do share them with me if you try a combination of Potol with some other taste.