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Lauki (also know as Bottle Gourd) kofta is a vegetarian curry dish cooked in few simple spices.  The base of the curry is Curd or Yogurt which give this curry a richness, texture and also taste.  I learned to cook this dish  by watching someone else cooking it which inspired me to try this at home.  I was amazed that this dish was delicious and my family loved it. Try it at home and enjoy eating.

Ingredients:

  • Lauki (Bottle Gourd) – 750 gms (buy fresh and not frozen).
  • Onion – 2 medium sized – roughly chopped.
  • Tomato – 2 small sized – roughly chopped.
  • Green chilli – 1 – finely chopped.
  • Coriander leaves – One cup – finely chopped.
  • Red chilli powder – 1 tsp.
  • Garam masala powder – 1 tsp.
  • Tumeric powder -1/4th tsp.
  • Coriander seeds – 1 tsp.
  • Bay leaves – 2 small.
  • Fennil seeds – 1 tsp.
  • Green Cardamom – 4
  • Dry Kasuri (Fenigreek) leaves – 1 tsp – fine powder.
  • Jeera (Cummin) seeds – 1 tsp.
  • Ginger & Garlic paste – 1 tsp.
  • Cooking oil for deep frying – sufficient.
  • Cooking oil – 1 tbs for frying the masalas.
  • Ghee or Clarified butter – 1 tbs.
  • Besan (Gram flour) – 1 cup.
  • Curd (Yogurt) – 1 cup – whisked to smooth texture.

Method:

  • Grat all the Lauki.  Add pinch of salt to the grated Lauki and mix them well for just one or two minutes. Take Lauki in your palm and properly squeeze all the excess water from Lauki.  Keep this squeezed lauki in a large mixing bowl.
  • Add pinch of Tumeric powder, chopped green chilli, pinch of garam masala, chopped coriander leaves, pinch fo red chilli powder, 1/4th tsp of ginger & garlic paste to this lauki.  Mix them well.
  • Add little by little (one spoon at a time) Gram flour to the above mixture and keep mixing it with your palm and fingers.  Use all the gram flour into the mixture.  Make small balls of one inch diameter and keep it aside.
  • Take a steamer.  Gently place all these lauki kofta balls on the steamer.  Steam it for 35 to 40 minutes.  Remove them and keep them aside once steam properly.
  • Take a deep Kadai or Pan and add required cooking oil for deep frying.  Heat it up.
  • Slowly add 2 to 4 steam lauki balls into the hot oil and deep fry them until golden brown.  Deep fry them on slow or medium heat only.  Do this for all the steam lauki balls and keep them aside.
  • Take another deep Kadai or Pan and add 1 tbs of cooking oil.  Heat it up.
  • Add Cummin seeds, Coriander seeds, Fennil seeds, green cardamom, bay leaves to the hot oil.  Allow them to crackle.
  • Add chopped onion and fry them until golden brown.
  • Add remaining garam masala, red chilli powder, pinch of tumeric powder, remaining ginger & garlic paste and fry them well.  Add water if required to deglaze the pan and avoid the masalas from burning.
  • Add chopped tomatoes.  Mix it well and allow the tomatoes to cook well.
  • Remove this masala mixture in a bowl and allow it to cool.
  • After cooled, grind the masalal mixture into fine paste.
  • Add Ghee or Clarified butter in the same pan used to fry the masalas.  Heat it up and allow it to melt.
  • Add all the finely grinded masalas to hot ghee.
  • Stir well and don’t allow it to stick to the pan.  Add half or one small cup of water to make a thick consistency of the gravy.  Keep stirring all the time.  Add salt if required after tasting the gravy.
  • Remove the pan from the heat.
  • Slowly add all the whisked curd into the gravy mixture.  Keep stirring continuously.
  • Keep it back on slow heat.
  • Genly add all the fried lauki koftas into the gravy mixture.
  • Coat all the koftas with gravy by genly mixing it well, ensuring the koftas don’t break while mixing.
  • Cover the pan with a lid and allow it to cook for 10 to 12 minutes on slowly heat.
  • Add powdered kasuri methi to lauki kofta curry.  Mix it well genly.  Cover it with the lid and turn off the heat.
  • Lauki Kofta curry is ready to be served.
  • Lauki Kofta curry can be served with chopped coriander leaves on it. It goes well with Chappati, Roti, Paratha or Jeera Rice.
  • Happy Eating.