Raw Mango and Bottle Gourd Dal Recipe | Khatta Meetha Lauki-Aam Dal

Learn how to make Raw Mango and Bottle Gourd Dal or Khatta Meetha Lauki-Aam Dal ~ Sweet and sour, creamy raw mango and bottle gourd lentil soup tempered with spices and curry leaves

What is summer without mangoes? Nothing, there is nothing in this world that screams summer to me like looking at the king of fruits. Be it emerald shaded raw mangoes and the rich golden hued mangoes, their sour and sweet flavour is unbeatable. It is and it will always be mangoes that rule my world and my childhood memories. Forget all exotic fruits; pineapple, peach, kiwi, plum, berries; nothing can ever come quite close to magnificent Mangifera Indica in flavour, taste or aroma. It’s a same story every year. Just one look at them and I start reminiscing about the Mango Season, the season of the king of fruits, back home in India.

Come summer and it meant only one thing for me and my siblings, long vacation at paternal and maternal granny’s home. The memories of those sunny, glorious summer days of endless fun, pranks and digging our teeth into succulent mangoes warm my heart even today. Granny’s house was just like many other beautiful tiled-terraced houses (or more like mansion) in my native village in southern India. Surrounded by acres of greenery, the white house with red tiles stood tall and proud with wide porches running around the house. Polished to perfection red oxide floors would gleam with intricately carved thick rosewood pillars supporting the roofs. The trees around the big house served as the compound walls and the beautiful water stream flowing right next to the house was its gate. Magnificent tall jackfruit, tamarind, coconut trees competed against each other for the title in the backyard.

Lauki Aloo Matar Curry Recipe | Simple and Easy Vegan Bottle Gourd Curry Recipes

Learn how to make Lauki Aloo Matar Curry ~ A simple and easy bottle gourd curry with potato and peas cooked in a sweet and tangy tomato gravy

Vegetables, some you love and some you hate. And then there are few which don’t fall under either category and precariously balance in between depending on how it is cooked. Lauki or sorekayi or dudhi or bottle gourd was one such vegetable in my list. Did you notice I spoke about it in past tense? It is because I was not either fond of it or disliked it enough to put firmly under just one category. So, like many other vegetables while growing up bottle gourd and I shared love-hate relationship.

Ingredients for Lauki Aloo Matar Curry

My mother being a terrific cook, all the dishes she made using this unassuming gourd was an instant hit on our dinner table. She knew the ways to trick the fussiest picky eater to go for second helping with her amazing cooking skills. Apart from making her signature boLu kodhel and bottle gourd peel chutney, she also makes fantastic melt-in-mouth sweet halwa and delicious lauki ke kofte which I remember was one of the popular dishes she cooked for special occasions. The bland, pale and unattractive vegetable would get a massive makeover in her hands, making it one of the most desirable things to eat. That’s the power of mother’s cooking, which made me slowly fall in love with this vegetable.

Khatta-Meetha Lauki Dal | Sapori Product Review and A Giveway

Learn how to make Khatti-Meethi Lauki Dal ~ One pot sweet and sour bottle gourd lentil soup

A week before the madness of Christmas holidays began, I received a large box of parcel from the Forma House, a UK based company specialising in unique home ware products sourced from around the globe. With all that running, organising and buying mini truckloads of presents for the family and friends, it was a pleasant surprise to receive something special during the festive season. The package contained two beautifully crafted pieces of Sapori Collection from the well-known brand La Porcellana Bianca; Sapori Potato Pot and the Sapori Casserole Pot in a beautiful shade of red. This post is about my experience of using this elegant cookware extensively in my kitchen for the last one month and also about how you can enter a giveaway to win this striking Sapori Casserole Pot worth £55!

I normally work with brands which are best fit for my blog readers and usually take couple of weeks to extensively test the products in my kitchen before posting an honest review as I don't believe in misleading the blog readers with false information. It has been little over a month since I started using the Sapori pots in everyday cooking and it was not difficult to fall in love with such beautifully crafted pieces of cookware. Both products came with very useful instruction manual as how to clean the product before using. The Sapori collection is created to meet the needs of people who are constantly looking for ways to enhance the flavours without compromising the nutrition quotient of food. It is designed for those who want to rediscover the joy and real taste of traditional recipes, whilst still being healthy.

Bottle Gourd Peel Chutney: Stop!!! Save the Peels

Bottle Gourd Peel Chutney

“Can you guess what’s in it?”

There she was, my Amma, with a twinkle in her eyes and as excited as a little girl of five who just found next best thing to sliced bread!

“Oh, ho… Oh, no! Here comes trouble”, we all thought.

Lauki-Lobia Curry: Fascinating Sprouts!

Lauki-Lobia Curry

You know what fascinates me? Life! Life as an individual’s journey on this planet, that begins with birth and ends with death. And according to Hinduism there is one more life, its life after death! Sometimes, I could be too philosophical with some random thoughts surfacing on idle days. I don’t want to go too philosophical today. But sometime I am called crazy for muttering my thoughts loud in front of my family and friends! Let us not go into that part now and concentrate on my today’s musings ;)

Lauki Choley: Complex or Simple?

Lauki Choley

Note 1: Complicated food can have very few ingredients.
Complicated recipe doesn’t mean complex flavours.

Note 2: Simple recipe can have lots of ingredients.
Simple food can have complex flavours.

Confused? Please don’t be… Both the statements are almost same and they prove once again my knack of making things complicated. I had to draw this hypothesis (?!) based on a comment that I received few days back where one of my blog reader left a note saying my recipes always have long list of ingredients and lengthy procedures but they are not as complicated as they seem to be!!! Very interesting feedback… very, very interesting indeed…

So I have decided to clarify few things and come clean ;) Looking back at the recipes I have posted I did notice that some of my recipes (OK most of my recipes, happy?) do have little lengthy list of ingredients and cooking procedure. But most the ingredients in that lengthy list are the ingredients which are used in almost everyday cooking. Well, the ingredients used in simple tadka or tempering itself has minimum of four ingredients and at maximum it can go up to seven ingredients!

At the same time I consider baking to be one hell of complicated recipe to master! (Message to all you wonderful bakers: Would you please stop laughing so loudly and it is not at all lady like to roll on the floor holding your stomach! :P) The simplest bread recipe I had come across has just six ingredients but it doesn’t mean it is easy to make! Does it? Nah… Don’t even try to convince me ;) I won’t be convinced so easily when it comes to baking.

So you see, it’s all the matter of perception as how you perceive all the recipes and also little bit of a thing called practice. If you perceive a recipe to be complicated just by looking at the things then there is a high chance of you avoiding to cook it. But at the same time in spite of that you go ahead and practice to cook that particular recipe then there is a high level of chance of you changing your opinion. Same this applies to simple food stuff…

I am one of those species who can stand on single legs and cook 3-4 varieties of Koftas, Curries and Biriyanis from scratch and still walk away by the end of it instead of crawling. And at the same time I am someone who dives at the chance of baking a bread from scratch just by looking at the TV show where the host made bread looking job something similar to building a castle on sea shore by 2 year old, then there is a high chances of ending up with a smoke alarm waking every dead soul in half a kilo meter distance! Yup, ingredients are not proportional to the complexity of dish or flavour. So it’s highly inappropriate to judge any recipe looking at the list of ingredients and the procedure to cook it. I hence rest my case!!!

Did you get confused again? I don’t blame you… why don’t we forget all my gibberish and come back to the main part of this blog. Yes, let’s talk about food, the glorious food! Today we are having Lauki Chole on our menu. Nah… Don’t twist your nose and roll your eyes. It’s not the same Lauki Kala Channa Masala I had posted few months back. It is Lauki and ‘The’ Channa (chickpeas) I want to talk of. It is your usual Chole recipe except for the addition of bottle gourds which really gives a new dimension to this good-old Punjabi recipe. After my successful attempt at combining bottle gourd with black chickpeas, I was left without any doubt of bottle gourd and Kabuli Channa. So there was no hesitation or second thought when I cooked this curry and guess what, it was just as I thought them to be! Little sweet bottle gourds and nutty chickpeas cooked in aromatic spicy and tangy gravy of onion and tomato is something that needs to be tasted to believe. A perfect marriage made in heaven and happily ever after… and please, don’t keep worrying looking at the ingredients list. I can bet my month’s salary that it is not as complicated as it may sound! Sending this delicious bowl of Lauki Chole to dear Valli who is having a love affair with legumes with My Legume Love Affair 7th Helping, an event started by lovely Susan at Well Seasoned Cook. And Lauki Chole is also my entry for this month’s JFI-Chickpeas hosted at a lovely blog Sometimes Foodie.

Lauki Choley

Print This Recipe

---

Lauki Choley Masala (Bottle Gourd with Chickpeas cooked in creamy Onion Tomato Gravy)

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 30-45 mins
Serves: 4-5
Recipe Level: Basic/Easy to Medium
Spice Level: Medium
Serving Suggestion: With any Indian flat bread or flavoured/steam cooked rice

---

Ingredients:
1 medium Bottle Gourd/Sorekai/Lauki/Dudhi, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
¾ cup Chickpeas, soaked in water overnight and cooked or 1 can Chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3 large juicy Tomatoes or 1 canned Tomato, pureed
1 tsp ginger-Garlic Paste
¼-½ tbsp Channa Masala/Garam Masala
1 tsp Kitchen King Masala (Optional)
1 tsp Kashmiri Chilli Powder (Optional, adjust acc to taste)
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
¼ tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder or 1 tsp Lime Juice (Adjust acc to taste)
1-2 tsp Sugar/Jaggery (Optional but recommended)
1 tbsp Kasuri Methi/Dried Fenugreek Leaves (Optional but recommend)
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida
1 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

For Onion Paste:
1 large Onion
½ inch Cinnamon Stick
2 Cloves
2 Green Cardamoms
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds

Lauki Choley

Method:

Grind onion, cinnamon stick, cardamom, cloves and cumin seeds to smooth paste without adding any water and keep it aside till needed.
Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and hing. When it starts to sizzle and change to light brownish colour, add ground onion paste. Keep stirring the paste till it turns light golden brown and looses its moisture. Make sure that the paste is cooked well or else you will end up with bitter tasting curry.
Add kasuri methi and ginger-garlic paste and stir well. Cook this for a minute or two till raw smell of the paste disappears. Then add tomato puree and mix well. Mix in channa masala/garam masala, kitchen king masala, turmeric and red chilli powder. Cook it for a minute or two for all the flavours to blend well.
Now add about ¾-1 cup of water, sugar and salt to taste and bring it to gentle boil. Mix in bottle gourd pieces and cover the pan. Let it cook on medium flame for about 5-8 mins.
Mix in cooked chick peas and amchur powder. Add little more water if needed and cover and cook for another 5-8 minutes till the bottle gourd is cooked through and all the flavours blend well.
Mix in finely chopped coriander leaves just before serving. Serve this delicious, creamy Lauki-Chole with any Indian flat breads or flavoured breads and enjoy.

---

Note:

Add one medium potato that is cooked and roughly mashed to the gravy which will not only thicken the gravy but also enhances its taste.
Replace Bottle Gourd with Ridge Gourd or Potatoes or skip the vegetables and just use chickpeas for different flavours.
Slow cooking of any lentils or legumes gives a wonder flavour and taste to any curry. But since we are using bottle gourd in this recipe, too much of cooking will result in over cooked bottle gourds and that is exactly what we want to avoid.

Lauki-Channa Dal Masala: Original Recipe

Lauki-Channa Dal Masala

Bored and exhausted, that was me when I came home yesterday. Exhausted because of work load and little too close for comfort deadlines approaching at lightening speed. Bored because I was not in a mood to cook same dal or rasam to go with leftover rice cooling in refrigerator. I had an option of either ordering food from takeaways or opening a can of soup sitting on top shelf of pantry since Dark Age. That’s it then, oily takeaway food or canned soup for dinner.

Who am I kidding?! I would rather eat some fresh salad than actually order oily, unhealthy food from takeaway or forcefully stuff my mouth with soup from tin can. When I opened a fridge, I found small bottle gourd happily (err, may be not that happily as it was beginning to get all wrinkly) snuggled under packets of fresh herbs and had managed to hide itself quite nicely. Intensely staring at wrinkled bottle gourd on kitchen counter with both my hands on hips was how Krish found me when he came home. With in few mins we went over the list of possible recipes we had tried with bottle gourd and nothing seemed to fit into my day’s objective of cooking something simple and quick and something different from usual stuff.

Just when I was about to give up on cooking something new, I remembered tasting a curry made using Channa Dal and Bottle gourd at one of my friend’s home some decades ago. Although I had no idea as how it was made I went along with the idea of combining nutty split chickpeas with little sweet and watery bottle gourd. With in few minutes I had this recipe in my mind and I could almost taste the final dish. I soaked quarter a cup of channa dal in water to soften while I went on chopping the other vegetables. And by the time Krish finished roasting frozen chapattis; this delicious Lauki-Channa Dal Masala was ready to seduce our taste buds. It was light, mild, delicious, quick, simple and different; everything I wanted it to be. This is my entry for Lore’s Original Recipe event and also my second entry for this month’s My Legume Love Affair hosted by Sra and initiated by Susan.

Channa Dal, Bottle Gourd and Kasuri Methi for Lauki-Channa Dal Masala

Print This Recipe

---

Dudhi-Channa Dal Masala (Bottle Gourd and Split Bengal Gram cooked with crunchy Onions and tangy Tomatoes)
Prep Time: 5-10 mins
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Serves: 3-5

---

Ingredients:
1 medium Bottle Gourd (Approx 4-5 cups), washed, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes)
¼ cup Channa Dal/Split Chickpeas, soaked in water for 10-30 mins
1 medium Onion, thinly sliced
2 large/3 medium Tomatoes, finely chopped
1-2 Green Chillies, slit
½ tsp Jaggery/Brown Sugar (Optional)
1 tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tbsp Kasuri Methi/Dried Fenugreek Leaves
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida
½ tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

Lauki-Channa Dal Masala

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and hing. When jeera starts to sizzle and turn light brown in colour, add sliced onions. Sauté on medium flame till they turn translucent, about 1-2 mins.
Mix in kasuri methi, slit chillies, garam masala and turmeric powder and sauté for half a minute. Now add chopped tomatoes and mix well. Let it cook for 2-3 mins till tomatoes become pulpy and releases its juice.
Add soaked channa dal, bottle gourd pieces, jaggery and salt to taste and mix well. Pour ¼-½ cup of water and cover the lid. Cook the curry on medium flame for 10-15 minutes on medium flame, stirring in between, till bottle gourds are cooked well.
Serve this delicious Lauki-Channa Dal Masala, garnished with coriander leaves, with Chapatti or Rice and enjoy.

Dudhi-Aloo Masala: What's Your Favourite?

Dudhi-Aloo Masala

6 months back: Mushrooms
4 months back: Bell Peppers
2 months back: Baby Corns
A month back: Fenugreek Leaves
At present: Dudhi/Sorekai/Bottle Gourd

Well, these were the vegetables which ruled our kitchen in the past few months. As I have a short span of memory, I can’t think beyond 6 months as which vegetables played centre role in everyday cooking. You see there is nothing normal in our household, ahem, except us if we can say so;) If we are to fall hard for particular vegetable, we end up cooking it almost day and night till we are tired of it. This obsession of our lasts at the maximum for 2 months and then again we fall in love with some other vegetable and the saga continues.

Our latest obsession is Bottle Gourd and poor gourd is undergoing various operations in our lab, err, kitchen for the past 2 months. Curry, stuffed, fried, chutney, dessert etc etc… you name it and we have tried them all and we are still in love with this unpretentious squash. What I love about this veggie is the way in which it simply compliments and blends with any other vegetable or lentils or spices and yet leaves lasting impression on your taste buds.

This time I decided to pair Dudhi with very much loved Tuber and cook in very delicious tomato gravy. Not wanting to cook with usual Garam Masala, I opted for Sambar Powder giving it a Southern Indian make-over. And it turned out to be one of the most delicious curries I have ever made. I chose to cook it in a pressure cooker to save energy as well as time and within no time this curry was ready to serve with Chapatti out from freezer. Make it in a large quantity as it tastes best on the next day when all the flavours blend well. Cook it little or more but cook for sure as this is one simple yet delicious treat which sure to please you and your loved ones. Off this goes to Lore’s Original Recipe event where she invites the bloggers to send your own creations.

Dudhi-Aloo Masala

Print This Recipe

---

Dudhi-Aloo Masala (Bottle Gourd & Potatoes simmered in tangy Tomato Gravy)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Serves: 4-6

---

Ingredients:
1 medium Bottle Gourd/Sorekai/Lauki, peeled, deseeded and diced into 1 inch cubes
2 medium Potatoes, peeled and diced to 1 inch cubes
1 large Onion, finely chopped
1 can chopped Tomato/3 large Tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 inch Ginger, finely chopped
2-3 Garlic Cloves, finely sliced
1-2 tbsp Sambar Powder (adjust acc to taste)
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Kashmiri Chilli Powder (Adjust acc to taste)
1 tbsp Jaggery/Brown Sugar
1 tsp Tamarind Paste
2 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste

For Tempering/Tadka:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 Dry Red Chilli, halved
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida
Few Curry Leaves
1 tbsp Oil

Dudhi-Aloo Masala

Method:

Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add mustard seeds. When it starts to pop and splutter add cumin seeds, dry red chilli, hing and curry leaves. Sauté on medium flame till jeera turns light brown.
Now add finely chopped onion, ginger and garlic and sauté till onion turns light golden brown, about 3 mins.
Mix in sambar powder and sauté it for 30 seconds. Add chopped tomatoes and cook till it turns pulpy, about 3 mins.
Add 3-4 cups of water, turmeric powder, jaggery, chilli powder and tamarind paste. Increase the heat and bring the water to boil, about 3 minutes.
Mix in cubed potatoes and bottle gourd and reduce the heat to medium. Cover and cook for about 12-15 minutes or 2 whistles till the vegetables are cooked to tender.
Once the pressure is released, open the lid and mix in finely chopped coriander leaves. Serve it hot with Poori, Chapatti or steamed Rice and enjoy. It tastes better the next day.

---

Notes:

Substitute Sambar Powder with 1- 1½ tsp Garam Masala for different flavour.
Same way, you can also substitute Tamarind with Amchur/Dry Mango Powder.
Replace Bottle Gourd with Zucchini/Courgette or Yellow Cucumber or any other Squash for different taste.
If you don’t have a pressure cooker, make sure that you use cooked potatoes instead of directly adding raw one as cooked ones will reduce the time in cooking. And also make sure you chop the vegetables to bite sized pieces for fast cooking.
This curry tastes superb the next day. So make sure you have cooked enough to have it on next day.

Serving Crazy with Lauki & Kala Channa Curry

Lauki-Kala Channa Curry

Have you read Amulya Malladi’s “Serving Crazy with Curry”? It is a story of protagonist, Devi, who is fired from her job at Silicon Valley and is suffering from a miscarriage. Tired with the way her life is leading Devi attempts to commit suicide and consequently is brought to her parents' home to recuperate and be looked after. The novel describes the tensions and frustrations, triumphs and tribulations within Veturi family. What happens next is nothing less of a Bollywood movie. After moving to her parents home Devi refuses to talk with anyone and channels all her emotions into cooking elaborate meals. She sprinkles more chilli when she is angry, cook sour food when she is sad and she churns sweets when she is happy. She uses unusual ingredients, as in non-traditionally Indian ones and yet succeeds in cooking extraordinary dishes that pleasantly surprises her family. What happens in the end is something you need to read yourself.

Although I am not much impressed with the novel, I enjoyed reading Devi’s bold character when she takes in charge of kitchen and starts to appreciate her mother who otherwise was portrayed by her as nosy, intrusive and Desi inspite of spending half of her life in other part of the globe. It is Devi’s cooking which prompts her family to initiate honest conversation with one another making them closer than ever before. I would recommend this novel to anyone who is interested in reading something different and the bonus is every chapter ends with Devi’s culinary creations.

Few days back I was in a mood to create my own curry instead of following some recipe book or something which we had already tasted. The result was this delicious Lauki-Kala Channa Curry. Instead of adding cubed Bottle Gourds to curry base and cooking it, I sliced them to half-moon discs and pan fried them in batches till they turned golden brown. Then I simmered them in tangy and spicy tomato gravy till they were cooked to perfection. Don’t be shocked to see unusual use of ingredients like Curry leaves used in almost all the South Indian recipes and Kasuri Methi which adds extra flavour for any North Indian dish. And there are also tamarind, jaggery and garam masala. I used Kala Channa to much loved Kabuli Channa as I like its rustic and earthy flavour and it beautifully complimented the Bottle Gourd. But what I loved the most is the way in which all these ingredients blend together harmoniously and deliver extraordinary taste which tickled our taste buds. There is nothing like feeling of ecstasy when you create something from scratch and it is much appreciated and loved by your loved ones. Pure bliss!
This recipe is on its way to Lore's Original Recipe event.

Print This Recipe

---

Lauki-Kala Channa Curry (Bottle gourd and Black chickpeas cooked in spicy and tangy Tomato gravy)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Serves: 4-6

---

Ingredients:
1 large Onion, finely chopped
1 medium Bottle Gourd (approx 4-5 cups)
1 can Black Chickpeas or 1 cup Dry Black Chickpeas cooked in pressure cooker
1 large Potato, cooked, peeled and roughly mashed
1 can Chopped Tomatoes or 3 Large Tomatoes, pureed
1 tbsp Kasuri Methi/Dried Fenugreek Leaves (Optional but recommended)
½ tbsp Jaggery/Brown Sugar (to balance the tartness of Tomatoes)
1 tsp Tamarind Paste (Adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Kashmiri/Deghi Chilli Powder (Adjust acc to taste)
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

For Tempering:
½ tbsp Oil
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida
Few Fresh Curry Leaves

Bottle Gours, Kala Channa & Tomatoes

Bottle Gourd Slices -Before & After Pan Frying

Method:

Trim the ends of Dudhi/Lauki/bottle gourd and peel it with a vegetable peeler. Slit it length-wise in middle so that you are left with two long pieces. With a help of a spoon, scoop out the seeds and the surrounding spongy mass carefully so that you are left with two dudhi ‘boats’. I left the seeds as they were very tender. Cut them into 1 cm slices as shown in the picture.
Heat a tbsp of oil in a flat pan and arrange bottle gourd slices so that they fir in single layer. Cook them on both the sides till they turn golden brown in colour and place them in a kitchen towel till required. Do it in batches so that you have evenly fried bottle gourd pieces. This step is purely optional. Skip this step if you wish.
Heat ½ tbsp of oil in a pan and add mustard seeds to it. When it starts to pop and splutter, add hing, cumin and curry leaves. Sauté it on medium flame till cumin starts to brown, about 30 seconds.
Mix in finely chopped onion and sauté it on medium flame till it turns golden brown, about 2 mins. Now add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, kasuri methi and garam masala and sauté it on low flame for about 30 seconds.
Pour in pureed tomatoes and mix well. Add jaggery and tamarind and mix well. Cook this at medium heat for about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add cooked kala channa, fried dudhi and mashed potatoes and mix well. Mix in salt to taste and add about cup of water. Simmer and cook the curry, stirring occasionally, for about 15-20 mins till dudhi is cooked properly and flavours blend well.
Serve hot, garnished with chopped coriander leaves if desired, with Chapatti or Rice and enjoy. Tastes better the next day.

Lauki-Kala Channa Curry

---

Reminder for JFI-Soya:

I invite you all to celebrate Jihva for Ingredients with this month’s theme JFI-Soya. Choice of Soya products, the recipe, ingredients, method etc is entirely left to you. I would greatly appreciate if you can send me any Vegan or Vegetarian recipes but I leave it to your choice. Soya foods include tofu, tempeh, textured vegetable protein (chunks, mince etc), miso, soya sauces, soya oil and margarine, and soya dairy alternatives.

Deadline: 31st August, 2008

Please go through the guidelines and include all the required information in your post and also in your e-mail while sending your entry. Don't forget to add Your Name, Your Blog Name, Name of the Dish, Type of Dish and Perm Link of the entry along with the gorgeous Photo of final dish.

Click Here or on the logo to find out more information on this event.

P.S: I will be away for next 5 days on short break to make most of the last remaining bits of British Summer and hence will not be able to respond to your e-mails and queries. I will get back to you as soon as we come back from holidays.
Till then, Happy Cooking and Blogging :)

Cheers
Sia

One of 660 Curries: Bharwan Lauki

Bharwan Lauki

Other day I read this interview at Star Tribune which was forwarded to me by one of my good friend who reads my blog regularly. The interview was with Raghavan Iyer, the author of cookbook called “The Turmeric Trail: Recipes and Memories from an Indian Childhood”. There he was talking about his new cookbook with over 832 pages filled with curry recipes, “660 Curries: The Gateway to Indian Cooking”.

What is Curry?
In England and the rest of the world, "curry" describes anything Indian that is mottled with hot spices, with or without a sauce, and "curry powder" is the blend that delivers it. In keeping with my culture, I define a curry as any dish that consists of meat, fish, poultry, legumes, vegetables, or fruits, simmered in or covered with a sauce, gravy, or other liquid that is redolent of spices and/or herbs. (Page 3)

Raghavan clarifies that curry isn’t about the dish spiced from a jar labeled “curry powder” that most of the western world is familiar with, but gravy. His quote “No self-respecting Indian kitchen world would have curry powder” was enough to make me itch to have his book in my hands. Then I read raving review at Juglabandi’s (15 Dudhi/Bottle Gourds recipes is what got my full attention as I am a sucker for Dudhi). And surprise, surprise!!! 660 Curries is one of my birthday loot from my much-better-half :) I was thrilled to get hold of this book (and also other gifts which Krish bought me keeping my blog in mind;) and in last 3 days we have had tried 3 recipes from this book with outstanding results. Wonder of wonder, no two curries taste the same!!! No wonder we are addicted to this near-encyclopedic curry bible and we will be cooking and posting many more recipes here in Monsoon Spice.

“I wanted it to be as if a cooking teacher is talking, so there is more explanation, as if I'm there".

Other than over 700 recipes (701 to be precise, 660 curries and the remainder for what he calls cohorts), what we loved about this mammoth of a book is the way in which the author has given the recipe instruction. He not only gives substitutes for the ingredients which may not be available in non-Indian kitchens but also clear cut and precise recipe instruction which is very easy to follow even for the novice cooks and those who are unfamiliar with Indian cooking techniques. Well not every author gives you step-by-step instructions as how to clean the lentils before using!!! This book is a labour of love and it shows in each and every recipe given. No wonder he claims his 4 years journey to get this book written and published was like “giving birth to a horse”!!!

The book has neatly written glossary lists for almost every ingredient used in all 701 recipes and also clear metric conversion charts for quantities and temperature. And what more, the author also gives mail-order sources for particular ingredients which otherwise may not be available outside India. From “Appetizer Curries” to “Contemporary Curries”, this book has it all. About 25%-30% recipes are non-vegetarian and there is one whole chapter dedicated to “Paneer based Curries” for all you Paneer lovers.

In almost all the recipes Raghavan uses his background as a chemist to describe the process of “building” the recipes based on these elements he describes in his first chapter “The Curry Quest” which is a must read if you are practically new to Indian cooking. Raghavan’s quest for bringing the Indian subcontinent to the western kitchen has surely won our heart.

The downside of this book?
One, there are not many glossy photographs which are my weakness. Second, once you have chosen a recipe, you may need to refer to some other recipe for particular ingredient required. Third, it would have been better if author could have given approximate estimation of preparation and cooking time for every recipe which would give us rough idea as how long it will take to get the food on your table.
But when you think of it, it is not exactly the downside. First of all the book is so thick, adding more picture will only mean more weight. And no glossy photo means you can imagine the end-product and thus makes you eager to cook and taste it (and you won’t get complex when you compare the dish you cooked with those extra glossy, out of this world food photographs;). And as per the flipping the pages to and fro, most of the spice blends will be ready in hand in almost every Indian kitchen and it is not necessary to give recipe of Garam Masala which is used in almost 30% of recipes.

What I love about this book?
What? You sure are reading this post right? With all the things mentioned above, you can’t fail to notice that each and every recipe is well researched with detailed step-by-step instructions which sure to please both novice and expert cook. The recipes are both authentic and creative. Overall a must have book for every Indian food lovers.

One of the curries I tried from this book is Bharwan Lauki or Potato Stuffed Dudhi/Bottle Gourd. Oh yes!! One of the main reasons for my quest to purchase this book was the fact that it has 15 bottle gourd recipes and I was not disappointed with the end result. Bottle gourd was never this sizzling hot before. Bottle gourd ‘boats’ stuffed with spiced mashed potatoes and cooked with chopped tomato masala. Just the title was enough to make me all excited as it was something which I have had never heard of and never tasted. It was delicious alright and it was one fancy looking dish too. These delicious Squash boats goes to dear Pooja’s VOW-Bottle Gourd and also to Valli's Curry Mela. Since it was cooked for brunch with fresh Summer Vegetables and served with Paratha, it is my entry for WBB-Summer Feast hosted by yours truely:)

Bharwan Lauki/Stuffed Squash

Print This Recipe

---

Bharwan Lauki (Potato Stuffed Squash/Dudhi)
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 1 hr to 1 hr 30 mins
Serves: 5-6
Recipe Source: 660 Curries: The Gateway to Indian Cooking

---

Ingredients:
For Dudhi Boats:
1 medium Dudhi/Bottle Gourd
2 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste

For Potato Stuffing:
2 medium Potatoes (Russet or Yukon Gold), peeled, diced, cooked, drained and roughly mashed
½ cup Reserved Water from Potato
1 small Red Onion, finely chopped
1 inch ginger, finely chopped
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ tsp roasted Cumin Powder
½ tsp Coriander Powder
1 tsp Deggi Mirch or ½ tsp Cayenne (Ground Red Chilli) + ½ tsp smoked sweet Paprika (adjust acc to taste)
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds (optional)
½ tbsp Kasuri Methi/Dried Fenugreek Leaves (optional)
½ tsp Sugar (optional)
½ tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

For Tomato Sauce:
1 can chopped Tomatoes
1 tsp Garam Masala (original recipe calls for Maharastrian Garam Masala)
½ tsp Kitchen King Masala (optional)

Spiced Potato Stffing & Tomato Sauce

Method:
For the Dudhi Boats:

Trim the ends of dudhi and peel it with a vegetable peeler. Slit it length-wise in middle so that you are left with two long pieces. With a help of a spoon scoop out the seeds and the surrounding spongy mass carefully so that you are left with two dudhi ‘boats’.
Place this in a large sauce pan and add about a tsp of salt. Pour in water so that the dudhi is completely immersed and cover and cook for 5-7 mins till dudhi turns limp, little transparent and is tender. Remove it from a pan and gently place it in a large oven proof dish, scooped side facing up.

For the Potato Stuffing:

Mix in turmeric, jeera, coriander and deggi mirch powder with roughly mashed potatoes and keep aside.
Heat oil in pan and add cumin seeds. When it starts to sizzle, mix in finely chopped onion and ginger and kasuri methi if using. Sauté it on medium flame till onion turns light golden brown, around 2-3 mins.
Now mix in spiced potato and mix well. Add sugar and salt to taste. Cook for 4-6 mins till potato starts to stick to the bottom of pan forming a light thin brown layer.
Stir in ½ cup of reserved water and mix well. Cook for further 2-3 mins till all the water is absorbed and the flavours are blended.

For Tomato Sauce:

In a bowl, add garam masala and kitchen king masala with canned chopped tomatoes and mix well. Keep this aside.

For Assembling:

Preheat the oven at 350 F.
First stuff the potato filling in halved dudhis making sure to cover it well. Now pour in the tomato sauce covering the dudhi well, lifting them a little to allow the juices to run under and form a thin layer which will prevent the squash from drying out when baked.
Cover the dish with tin foil and bake it undisturbed for around one hour until the potatoes are warm and squash is tender and the tomatoes are softened.

To serve:

Cut each Potato stuffed Dudhi into 3 equal pieces and sprinkle chopped coriander laves before serving. I served it with simple Jeera Rice.

Bharwan Lauki

---

Note:
Other Dudhi recipes blogged so far

• Sorekai Bolu Kodhel

Other useful links:

• Raghavan Iyer's website
• Some sample recipes from 660 Curries-his blog
• Monsoon Spice's picks- 660 Curries

---

Reminder: WBB-Summer Feast

For this edition of WBB, your challenge is to cook anything with summer fruits and vegetables. Yes, the theme is WBB-Summer Feast. Go to your town/city’s Farmer’s Market and pick fresh season’s produce and make your favourite breakfast or brunch and join in the Summer Feast.

Deadline: 31st July, 2008

Please go through the guidelines and include all the required information in your post and mail when sending me your entry. Don't forget to add Your Name, Your Blog Name, Name of the Dish you cooked, Perm Link of the entry along with the gorgeous Photo of final dish.

Click Here or on the logo to find out more information on this event.

Simplicity at its Best: Sorekai Bolu Kodhel

Sorekai/Bottle Gourd Bolu Kodhel

We are back from short yet wonderful vacation from India and already missing home! Here I am in my office, feeling sleepy and jetlagged and terribly homesick. Each and every minute of those 18 days were filled with excitement and fun and our ears are still buzzing. It feels strange to be here away from all buzz and excitement. The two big family weddings in two weeks of our vacation kept us on our toes all the time. Mehendi, shopping, facials, flower decorations, shopping for gifts, last minute purchases, travelling, houseful of guests, shopping (did I say shopping again?!), phone calls to friends… It was complete madness and we enjoyed each and every moment of it. It won’t be exaggeration if I had to say that we hardly got time to think about coming back (Will write about it more in my later posts). Surprisingly even the flights were on time and everything went smoothly.

Can’t believe that we had been away for just few days and there is already change in weather. Thankfully the gloomy, cloudy weather is over and we were pleasantly welcomed by bright and sunny day. After 10+ hours of journey and forcefully eating the food served on flight all we craved for is some simple food, food which is also comforting. Ganji with Tender Mango Pickle and simple Bolu Kodhel is what comes to my mind whenever we fly back from India. Unlike other Coconut based Mangalorean Kodhels, this one uses very few ingredients sans much loved Coconut. Some things in life are better when they are simpler. How many times have we really tried to be simple but ended up complicating it more in that process? Keeping things simple is indeed complicated and it is very true when it comes to recipes. I am always impressed with the recipes which are traditional and handed down from one generation to the next. Most of them are uncomplicated, simple and yet the end result is always the winner. One such recipe which is handed down to me by my Amma, who in turn learnt it from her mom (my Ajji) is Bolu Kodhel. Bolu means plain and Kodehl means Curry from Mangalore. Bolu Kodhel is unfussy, comforting food for me that takes away all the ill-feelings after eating the food served on flights. Silky Bottle Gourd is cooked with spicy and aromatic Rasam/Sambar Powder and sweet Jaggery is the simplicity at its best. The simple tadka/tempering of Garlic and Hing gives it a touch of richness. Try it if you like simple food which tops the chart when it comes to taste and I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed with the end result. I am sending Sorekai/Bottle Gourd Bolu Kodhel to Laurie who is guest hosting WHB started by lovely Kalyn.

Print This Recipe

---

Bolu Kodhel (Plain Curry of Bottle Gourd from Mangalore with Rasam/Sambar Powder and Garlic Tadka)
Prep Time: 5-10 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Serves: 4-5

---

Ingredients:
5 cups Bottle Gourd, peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes)
1- 1½ tbsp Rasam/Sambar Powder (Adjust acc to taste)
½ - 1 tbsp Jaggery (Adjust acc to taste)
1 big marble sized Tamarind
1-2 Green Chillies, slit (Optional, adjust acc to taste)
1 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste

For Tempering:
½ tbsp Ghee + 1 tsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 Dry Red Chilli, broken
A big Pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
Few Curry Leaves
½ bulb of Garlic Cloves, peeled and sliced

Sorekai Bolu Kodhel

Method:

Cook bottle gourd cubes with jaggery, salt to taste and tamarind in a pan with enough water (approx 5-7 cups of water) for about 5-10 minutes till they are half cooked.
Mix in Rasam/Sambar powder and slit green chillies. Adjust the seasonings and water as per your taste and cook on a medium to low flame for another 10 minutes till the water is reduced to 2/3rd and flavours are blended well.
For tadka, heat ghee and oil in a pan and add sliced garlic. Sauté till garlic turns golden yellow and add mustard seeds, broken red chilli, curry leaves and hing.
When mustard starts to pop and splutter transfer the tempering into the Kodhel and mix well.
Mix in chopped coriander leaves. Cover and let it sit for another 5-10 minutes for all the flavours blend well. Serve hot with steamed Rice and Papad and enjoy.

Sorekai Bolu Kodhel

---

Notes:

Slow cooking is the best method to make Bolu Kodhel.
Make sure that the water quantity is reduced to 2/3rd from original quantity. This way of cooking is known as ‘Battisuvudu’ in Kannada which is also used when making simple Rasams and Dals so that the flavours are blended well.
Other than Bottle Gourd, Okra is also cooked in a similar fashion with little bit of Toor Dal sans Garlic.