Lauki Ke kofte- Bottle gourd dumplings in tomato-curd gravy

Plant a radish, get a radish,

never any doubt, thats why I love vegetables,

You know what they are about!

-Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt

Vegetables are the best thing to eat...everyone knows that. But sometimes you need to add a little twist to them for creating new...psst...also you need to hide it for little ones to eat.

That's when you take a homely bottle gourd and elevate it to the princely kofta status.

You will need

For koftas
Lauki/ Dudhi/Ghiya/ bottle gourd - 1, medium, grated
Besan/ chickpea flour- 4 tbsp
Green chillies- 1 or 2, chopped fine
Salt- 1/3 tsp
Adrak /Ginger- 1/2 " piece, grated
Coriander/ Dhaniya leaves - 2 tbsp (optional)
Oil- for frying

Method
Mix all the ingredients of koftas/ dumplings except oil and leave it for 5 min for the chickpea flour (mota besan) to absorb water. If your chickpea flour is ground fine then you don't need to leave it.

Heat oil in a wok/Kadhai.

Take the mixture in a spoon and pour in the oil. Cook on medium flame, till the kofta changes color to golden brown. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and keep aside on a paper towel.
Make in batches.

 For gravy
Tomatoes- 2, medium
Green chili- 1
Adrak /Ginger- 1" long
Curd- 1/2 cup
Coriander seed powder/ Dhaniya powder- 1 tsp
Salt- 1/2 tsp or to taste
Haldi/Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Garam masala- 1/4 tsp
Red chili powder- 1/4 tsp
Oil- 1/2 tbsp
Heeng /asafoetida powder- 1 pinch
Jeera / cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp

Method
Blend tomatoes. ginger and green chilli together in a blender.

Heat oil in a Kadhai.

Add a pinch of heeng and jeera /cumin seeds. Let the seeds sizzle and brown.

Add the tomato mix and let it cook for a few minutes. Add salt and haldi powder.

Take curd in a mixing bowl. Add dhaniya powder and red chili powder. Mix it together.

When the tomato mix is cooked, add the curd mix and keep stirring for a minute or till it comes to a boil. Even if it does boil over, keep mixing for a few minutes. The oil will come on the top. If you feel the gravy is drying out, then add water. I added about 1/4 to 1/2 cup water.

Add koftas to the gravy and serve hot.

Enjoy hot with Rotis or paranthas.

Potato curry- No onion, no garlic recipe

This is a very simple dish to make. I usually make it on days on which we are fasting. Sometimes its yummily paired with Bedmi poori (will post the recipe soon).

Ingredients

• Potatoes- 3, boiled, peeled and diced
• Tomatoes- 2
• Ginger- 1' piece
• Green chillies- 1-2 (depending on the heat you want in the curry)
• Ghee/ Clarified butter- 1tsp
• Jeera/Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
• Heeng/asafoetida- a pinch

Spices

• Dhaniya power/coriander seeds powder- 1 and 1/2 tsp
• Red chilli powder- 1/4 tsp
• Haldi/ Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
• Garam masala- 1/4 tsp
• Salt- 1 tsp ( you can increase or decrease as per your taste)

Method

1. Grind tomatoes, ginger and green chilies together.
2. Heat Ghee in a Kadhai.
3. Add Heeng and jeera.
4. When the Jeera sizzles and brown, add the ground  tomato paste.
5. Add all the spices and mix well. Lower the flame a little and let it cook till the oil leave sides.
6. Add the potatoes and turn them in order to coat them with the cooked gravy. Add some water. Here you can decide the amount as per your need to have a thick or thin gravy.
7. You can mash a few pieces of potatoes here to give texture to the gravy.
8. Taste and adjust for salt.

Serve hot!

Gobhi Masala- Cauliflower gravy

This is a borrowed from a dear friend. I just went to her place for an impromptu lunch and voila! She comes up with this yummy recipe.  It was a pity that I could not see her in action or take pictures.
Anyways, I followed her recipe (with slight modifications) and though my cauliflower was not the same, it was good and hubby liked it.

Ingredients:

• Cauliflower- 1 head, washed , dried and cut into florets
• Onion- 1 medium, made into paste
• Bay leaf- 1
• Milk- 1/2 cup + Water - 1 cup
• Tomato - 2-3 , pureed
• Ginger and green chili paste- 1 tsp
• Haldi (turmeric powder)- 1/4 tsp
• Dhaniya powder (coriander seed powder)- 1 tsp
• Roasted Jeera powder (cumin seeds)- 1/2 tsp
• Tomato ketchup- 2 tsp
• Garam masala- 1/2 tsp
• Coriander leaves for garnishing (optional)
• Oil- 1Tbsp

To make:

1. Boil water and turn of flame. Add 1 spoon salt to it and soak the cauliflower florets. Cover and keep aside for use.
2. Heat oil in a pan or Kadhai.
3. Fry onion paste till oil leaves side. Add 1 bay leaf.
4. Add ginger and green chilli paste. Fry for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add milk and water mixture.
6. Cook till this mixture thickens (about 10-15 min.).
7. Add the pureed tomatoes. Add Haldi, Dhaniya powder, salt and Jeera powder.
8. Cook till oil leaves side.
9. Add Garam masala. Mix.
10. Drain the cauliflower florets. Add these to the cooked gravy. Turn them so the cooked mixture coats it well. Add Tomato ketcup.
11. Now add 1 cup water to this and cover it. Lower the flame and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes. 
12. Make sure that the cauliflower florets are cooked thoroughly, but are not mushy. Add more water if required.
13. The water should reduce to half or more. Here you can decide on the consistency of the gravy. Adjust for salt.
14. Once done , remove from flame and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot.

Enjoy!