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Lauki Kofta (Bottle Gourd Dumplings)

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It's called Long melon.. or Chinese melon.. or Calabash.. or Opo squash .. etc etc but it's commonly known as Lauki in Hindi and Bottle Gourd in English. This vegetable is not very familiar to the western world (yet!), but it's a highly used ingredient in Indian Cuisines. They vary in size from 6 inches to over 3 feet in length, and 2 to 12 inches in diameter, and can survive in salt water for more than 6 months!! Ok that was enough 'gyan' for today 😉

I somehow never liked this vegetable much .. it's too watery with a bland taste .. and too cold .. nay !! We used to eat this vegetable a lot during summer and the only possible way Ma could make me eat this vegetable was by cooking it with some shrimp and someday I will share this recipe with you guys . Today's recipe is a typical North Indian dish and one of my hubby's favorite. So after looking over the net .. speaking to Mummy (my mother-in-law ) I finally geared myself to cook this dish. Oh No ! Don't get confused .. it's really not that big a deal or involves any complicated steps .. but you know ..I was cooking one of my hubby's fav dish 😉

 

kofta lauki 1

Lauki Kofta/Bottle Gourd Dumplings in Thick Gravy

Kankana Saxena
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Ingredients
 

  • 1 medium size bottle gourd
  • 1 medium size onion
  • 1 medium tomato
  • 1 small potato
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 small cinnamon stick
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tbs cumin powder
  • 1 tbs garam masala powder
  • 1 tbs chilly powder
  • ½ cup milk
  • 2 tbs all purpose flour
  • ½ cup chopped coriander leaf
  • salt and oil

Instructions
 

Kofta/ Fried Balls

  • Grate the bottle gourd
  • Squeeze the water out from it . I wrapped them in some paper towels to take the water out of it completely.
  • In a bowl mix the grated bottle gourd with the flour and a pinch of salt and let it rest for 15 minutes. ( The salt will release water from the vegetable and it will keep it moist, do not add any water to it)
  • Now make tiny balls out of the mixture and keep it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes (minimum)
  • In a deep pan heat some oil and fry the balls . ( You have to make sure it doesn't get burnt , so fry in low heat)
  • You make want to poke them a little with a fork so that it gets cooked completely even from inside.
  • Keep the balls aside once it's fried . You can also eat them fried with some tangy dip as an appetizer 🙂

Thick Gravy

  • In a pan boil 2 cups of water and boil the potato
  • While it's boiling, grate the onions and the tomatoes together
  • Heat 2 tbs oil in a pan and throw in the cinnamon stick , bay leaf , chopped garlic and enjoy the aroma.
  • Now pour the grated onion and the tomatoes and saute for about 5 minutes till it's cook
  • Add the cumin powder , chilly powder, salt and garam masala and cook for another 5 minutes
  • Once the potatoes are boiled , mash them and mix them in 2 cup of water
  • Pour this in the pan along with the ½ cup milk and cook for another 5 minutes and switch off the heat. ( At this point, if you want to increase the quantity of the gravy, you can add more water and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes)
  • In a serving bowl place the fried balls and pour the gravy from the pan.
  • Garnish with the chopped coriander leaf and let it rest for 5 minutes
  • Serve it with hot Chapati or Naan

Nutrition

Serving: 1Servings

 

Ting Tong.. Ting Tong ! Oh, that's my hubby 🙂

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Comments

  1. Smita

    Was searching for some gud lauki recipe. I came across yours and tried it at home. Everybody liked it. My daughter who is not very fond of vegetables, also relished eating it. Thank u so much for the recipe.

  2. Madhu

    Hey ... like I told you, I couldn't wait to try this one out ... so I did ... I had to make very minor changes to the ingredients to adapt to my own pantry, but I followed your instructions to the T ... and I LOVED IT ... and so did the 4 other people who tried it ...
    Just wanted to let you know ...
    And also ... am coming back to your blog for more recipes 😀

    • Kankana Saxena

      Thanku Madhu.. keep trying and let me know 🙂 .. btw you made my day sweetie :))))

  3. Madhu

    I hate cooking myself, but I really want to try my hand at this one. It sounds really easy and looks amazing!
    Good going girl!

    • Kankana Saxena

      Give it a try sweetie and thanks a lot 🙂

  4. tigerfish

    I wonder if other gourds will work...for example, the winter melon or Chinese old cucumber...cos I am not a fan of opo :O

  5. Aipi

    I am not much of a lauki fan myself but I do like it in the kofta form. This post has made me realize it has been WAY too long since I've had this! Looks delicious:)

    US Masala

  6. The Good Soup

    Kankana, It's lovely to have found you! From just this recipe, I can tell, I have a lot to learn from reading your posts. Bottle gourd is something I've looked at planting in my garden, and now I think I will! I'm so glad you found my site as well and I look forward to future conversations! Cheers, Angela

  7. something_good

    great to have them with some spicy dip! I bet they are yummy either way - with or without gravy

  8. Priya Sreeram

    koftas r my favourite and i love it in form of laukis ---am drooling here!, looks swell kankana

  9. rachu

    I hate Lauki.. but this recipe is making me crav for lauki.. i should buy and try it now..

    ammaandbaby.blogspot.com

  10. lauren

    I always learn about new food here -- it's awesome.