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.

Lauki/ Doodhi/ Ghiya Curry (bottle gourd cooked with tomatoes)

Lauki or Bottle gourd is called by various names at various places in India. This humble vegetable is somehow skipped when we talk about delicious foods.

 
Here I'm sharing a simple recipe which is a regular feature of our household as both me and my hubby relish eating this one. Usually when we both want a light, regular, home cooked meal; this is the one which comes to our mind. Though it can be cooked as a dry vegetable also; we usually use the curried one.

Ingredients:

1. Lauki- 1 (cut into medium sized pieces)
2. Tomatoes- 1 big (chopped)
3. Jeera (cumin seeds)- 1 tsp
4. Ghee (clarified butter)- 1 tsp
5. salt to taste
6. Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
7. Haldi (Turmeric powder)- 1/4 tsp
8. Dhaniya (coriander seeds powder)-1 &1/2 tsp approx.

Method:

• Take a pressure cooker and add ghee to it.
• Add Jeera and wait till it sizzles.
• Add Lauki and chopped tomatoes and toss it around.
• Add the remaining spices and 1 Tbsp water (optional).
• Cover and cook at medium flame
• After one whistle, the curry is usually cooked. You might need to cook more if the gourd was very stiff in the beginning.
• Serve hot with Chapati or rice.

This simple vegetable it can be transformed into a delicacy by making 'Koftas'. Will write about that some other time.

Lauki with chana dal (gravy preparation of split bengal gram and bottle gourd)

Lately the days have been dragging by, so I needed some good ol' recipe to cheer me up. Thankfully, my husband reminded me of this one and I made it the very day. I was happy that it came out well in spite of the fact that I mostly made it from memory.

Serves 3-4 people
Ingredients
1. Chana dal (split bengal gram)- 1 katori (200ml approx volume)
2. Bottle gourd (Lauki/dudhi) - 2 cups, chopped in medium sized pieces.
3. Oil-1 tbsp
4. Onion- 1 medium sized, blended or chopped finely
5. Tomato- 1 big, chopped finely
6. Garlic- 2 cloves + ginger (1" piece)- made into a paste
7. Green chilly-1 chopped finely or ground with ginger & garlic paste
8. Dalchini (cinnamon)- 1 cm stick
9. Lavang (clove)- 1

Spices
10. Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
11. Salt- 1 tsp/ as per taste
12. Coriander powder (dhaniya)- 2tsp
13. Garam masala- 1tsp
14. Red chilli powder- 1/4 tsp

Method
a. Keep chana dal soaked overnight or in warm water for 3 hrs. In tropics even room temperature water is ok for soaking.
b. Take a pressure cooker and heat oil in it.
c. Add cinnamon and clove in it. Add onions, ginger-garlic paste & green chilly and fry on medium high flame till it leaves oil on the sides.
d. Now add tomatoes, all the masalas (spices) and mix well. Lower the flame a little and cook till tomatoes are mushy. Add some water, if required here (I added some 2 tbsp of water).
e. Now add the soaked and drained chana dal and mix well with the gravy made. Add about 1 cup of water and close the cooker. Adjust the flame to high.
f. After 3 whistles, lower the flame to medium. After one more whistle, switch off the gas and let it cool.
g. If you are the impatient kind like me, you can just release the pressure of the cooker and open it.
(Note: the number of whistles may vary according to the amount of water and the time for which the dal was soaked. Basically the dal has to be cooked but still hold its shape)
h. Add Lauki to the dal and close the cooker again. Keep it on fire till 1-2 whistles come. No need to add more water as the vegetable will release its own.
i. Switch off the flame and let it cool before opening.

Serve it with chapati (Indian flatbread) and rice.
Note: Please check the Lauki(bottlegourd) before using it for the recipe. Bitter ones will spoil the preparation completely.