Making Jahni posto

"Jahni", "Turai", "Ridge gourd","Beera Kaya", "Pirkanga", "Dodaki", "Sin qua"(in Chinese) or Luffa acutangula is a very popular vegetable. It is also sold in chinese stores as Chinese Okra(??). Jahni belongs to Cucurbita family and profusely fruits during Late August/September, when the temperature cools down slightly. In India, it is a very popular vegetable sold during the summers like most other cucurbits.

Nutritional Facts:
Luffa acutangula is a high source of fat and nutritionally valuable minerals (P, K, Mg, Ca, Fe). Although the kernel had high proportion of essential amino acids (42.04%) but it was only in (Phe + Tyr) that a balanced content of essential amino acid was found with respect to the FAO/WHO provisional pattern45 while supplementation may be required in ILe, Leu, Lys, Met + Cys, Thr and Val.[ref]. The bitter versions of Luffa is used for curing jaundice. The old ripe fruits are used as scrubbers and is very rich in fibre.

In east Indian cuisine, this vegetable is added to almost every vegetarian dish. Many mixed vegetable dishes(sometimes we add shrimp to it), some leafy vegetable dishes are incomplete without Luffa. One particular dish that Oriyas and bengalis relish  with Luffa is the "Posto". It is a very delicious dish and often prepared with great care during special occasions. Preparation of Posto is relatively easy if you have all the ingredients handy. In our language any dish prepared with poppy seeds are called as "posto". [IMP: Poppy seeds are NOT drugs and is a very common ingredient in Indian cooking. It is used as a thickener/spice].

Ingredients for Luffa Posto:
2 table spoons of dry poppy seeds
1 table spoon mustard seed
1 table spoon cumin seeds
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 of big onion
pinch of turmeric
2/3 green chillies
2 table spoon oil
2 table spoon oil
3 lbs of Luffa

Preparation:
First grind the poppy seeds into powder in a coffee grinder. Then wash the vegetable and peel the ridges and cut them into small pices(1 inch X 1/2 inch dimension). Cut the onion into small pieces, and crush the garlic into near paste. Heat oil in a pan, put the mustard seeds and cumin seeds into it, and allow them to burst. Then immediately add crushed garlic, and fry it in medium flame till it is golden in color. Then add onion, turmeric, chillis, salt and stir fry till it becomes golden brown. Then add the cut Luffa along with poppy powder to the pan. Add little bit of water and cover it. Allow it to cook in slow flame. Stir occasionally. The whole process takes around 20 mins. Serve with hot rice/roti.
Posto tastes very good if mushroom is added along with Luffa - this is my personal favorite. If you have pumpkin flowers, then add them to it, it gives a very exquisite taste to it.

Luffa growing in my garden

Jahni posto after it is cooked yum yum!