Lau Chingri is a quintessential Bengali side dish, enjoyed quite often during summer days. “Lau” is bottle gourd and “Chingri” is shrimp and the combination works beautifully with very minimal spices. It’s a delicacy in West Bengal, a comfort food when paired with steamed white rice.
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lauki
The term Kofta often refers to meat dumplings that are shaped like mini logs. In Indian cooking, Kofta is not restricted to just meat but also extends to roots, vegetables and even cheese. There are a wide variety of vegetarian Kofta dishes that are typically served in form of a curry. This a very popular vegetable dumpling curry prepared with bottle gourd. I like to prepare the gravy with a combination of almond and poppy seeds and hence the name, Badami Lauki Kofta (Bottle Gourd Dumplings in Almond Curry). It enhances the flavor and makes the gravy very creamy without…
It might sound interesting for some, probably even bizarre for others, but for most Bengali’s, this is an everyday comfort food. Lau Er Khosha Bhaja literary translates to Bottle Gourd Peel Stir Fry. It is a humble side dish, typically paired with steamed white rice and lentil stew. For the past several years since I left home, I have used bottle guard so many times in several different dishes. But I never used those peels. In the process of learning to cook, I forgot some of these simple dishes that I grew up eating.