Bottle Gourd Sabji

Yuvaraj (my brother) is fond of this sabji that I had made when he visited us once; he was surprised because probably he had not eaten anything from me that good before my marriage. My mom used to tell it is so gratifying to serve my brother as he tastes well and appreciates dishes unlike anyone else in our home. I realized this truly when I started cooking; hearing about the food (be it appreciation or criticism) from the one who tastes it is an honor for the one who cooked it. I adapted this recipe from madhurasrecipe.com; however the original recipe includes potato.

Serves: 2 -3

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1.      Bottled gourd or lauki – 1 medium

2.    Tomato – 2

3.    Green chili – 1

4.    Curry leaves – 1 sprig

5.     Coriander leaves for garnishing

6.    Oil – ½ tbsp

7.     Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp

8.    Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp

9.    Asafoetida – 1 pinch

10.            Turmeric powder – 1 pinch

11.   Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp

12. Chili powder – 1 tsp

13. Coriander powder – 1 tsp

14. Cumin powder – ¼ tsp

15.  Garam masala – 1 tsp

16. Salt to taste

Method:

Step 1: Peel and cube the bottle gourd, chop the tomatoes and green chili.

Step 2: Heat oil in a pan splutter mustard & cumin seeds, sprinkle asafoetida & turmeric, add green chili & curry leaves, add ginger garlic paste and sauté tomato in it.

Step 3: Add chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and sauté for a minutes and then add cubed bottle gourd.

Step 4: Pour a ladle of water & add enough salt; mix and close to cook in simmer for 10 minutes.

Step 5: Open the lid, check if the vegetable is cooked, and add garam masala and mix well.

Step 6: Garnish with coriander leaves and serve it with phulkas.