Lauki Kofta Gravy or Bottlegourd Dumpling Curry

Bottle gourd is such a healthy vegetable: it helps digestion, it cools the body, it is beneficial to skin and is mainly sought-after for weight loss.  But I have never heard anyone call it a favourite veggie; in my mom-in-law’s home they don’t even include it in anyway. When we had Kundan’s cousin for lunch, I wanted to try this lauki kofta curry as I thought that’s a cheering way to feed bottle gourd to people who abhor it on plate. I’m not sure how far my guests or Kundan liked it but our maid appreciated it pretty much.

Serves:  4

Preparation Time:  15 minutes

Cooking Time:  30 minutes

Ingredients:

1.      Bottle gourd – 1 small

2.    Gram flour – 3 tbsp

3.    Red chili powder – 2 tsp

4.    Salt to taste

5.     Lemon – 1

6.    Oil as required

7.     Cinnamon – 2 “ piece

8.    Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp

9.    Onion – 1 large

10.  Tomato – 4

11.   Coriander powder – 1 tsp

12. Cumin powder – ¼ tsp

13. Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

14. Ginger garlic paste – ½ tsp

15.  Almonds – 6-10 no.

16. Coriander – 2 tbsp chopped

Method:

Step 1: Soak almonds in hot water.

Step 2: Peel and grate the bottle gourd into fine shreds [I did a mistake by making thick shreds; it made the kofta chewy even after cooking]. Add 2 pinches of salt and leave aside for 30 minutes after which you need to squeeze out the juice (save it for gravy) and take it in a mixing bowl.

Step 3: To the grated bottled gourd, add gram flour, ½ tsp of chili powder, juice of half a lemon, salt and mix well. Add more flour if required, roll into 2” balls and deep fry them until golden brown.

Step 4: For tomato gravy: grind the tomato and soaked almonds into smooth paste.

Step 5: Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan, splutter cumin seeds, add cinnamon and sauté finely chopped onion & ginger garlic paste in it until translucent.

Step 6: Add tomato puree to it and sauté until the oil starts coming out. Add remaining chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, required salt and sauté further for 2 minutes until the raw smell goes off.

Step 7: Add 3 cups of water and let it boil in simmered heat and form thick gravy. It takes around 15 minutes.

Step 8: Transfer the gravy to a serving dish and drop in the crisp koftas; some people like the koftas crisp and some like them soaked in gravy, serve as per preference.

Step 9: Serve garnished with fresh coriander along with roti/ naan.

TIPS:

* Substitute cashew nuts for almonds if you wish the gravy to be creamy.

Sattvic Cauliflower

I know the name sounds comical; but then I couldn’t think of a name that would be more appropriate for my blanched, mildly seasoned and sautéed cauliflower florets. I always like my cauliflower just cooked, as in it should still be firm in appearance and soft in texture. Sattvic foods are those that instil sattva guna in us. 

Ok... for those who’ve not come across this stuff: According to Bhagavad Gita, there are three gunas namely sattva guna, tamas guna and rajas guna each of which have their own traits and are there inside every being in different proportions. We would require them in varied scopes depending on our profession, personality and so on. Though these gunas are not determined merely by our food intake, food does have an influence in arousing these gunas in us. Generally, Sattvic foods are fresh fruits and vegetables that are either uncooked or mildly cooked and minimally spiced; Tamasic foods are fatty, meaty, and stale; Rajas foods are spicy, fermented, sour and pickled. Spiritual guidelines encourage us to maximize the sattvic guna while maintaining the other two just at the minimum required levels in order to lead a happy and healthy life.

Serves:  2

Preparation Time:  5 minutes

Cooking Time:  5 minutes

Ingredients:

1.      Cauliflower – 1 small

2.    Salt to taste

3.    Turmeric powder – 1 pinch

4.    Oil – 1 tsp

5.     Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp

6.    Asafoetida – 1 pinch

7.     Chili powder – ½ tsp

Method:

Step 1: Cut the cauliflower into bite sized florets and clean in warm salted water.

Step 2: Blanch the florets in salted water by adding a pinch of turmeric to it for approximately 2 minutes and immediately drain using a mesh and pour some cold water on the vegetable to prevent further cooking.

Step 3: Heat oil in a pan, splutter cumin seeds in it, sprinkle the asafoetida, red chili powder and toss the blanched cauliflower in it. Adjust salt if required.

Step 4: Serve it as-is like salad or as complement with a rice dish.

Paneer Tikka

Almost always Kundan orders for paneer tikka when eating out. So, I had wanted to try this for a long time now and had an opportunity to make it when we had guests for lunch yesterday. I have seen proper south Indian restaurants serving this starter (tastes way different from northern versions though) as there are many takers of it down here too. Mine was a simple beginner’s kind; it turned slightly salty otherwise the recipe was definitely good.

Serves:  2

Preparation Time:  10 minutes

Marinating Time: Minimum 30 minutes

Cooking Time:  15 minutes

Ingredients:

1.      Panner – 200 gm

2.    Youghurt/ Hung curds – ½ cup 

(Normal curd might be runny after mixing spices and will not stick onto paneer, hence we use hung curds)

3.    Salt as required

4.    Red chili powder – 1 tsp

5.     Chaat masala – ½ tsp

6.    Ginger garlic paste – ½ tsp

7.     Cumin powder – ¼ tsp

8.    Pepper crushed – ¼ tsp

9.    Butter – 2 tbsp

10. Coriander or salad for garnishing

Method:

Step 1: Cut the paneer into cubes or flat rectangles as you desire.

Step 2: Prick holes on all the surfaces with the help of a fork.

Step 3: Whisk curds with all the spices and salt and smear over the paneer cubes. Preferably refrigerate it until cooking because we want the marinade to seep into the paneer at the same time preventing the curds getting sourer.

Step 4: Now heat a tawa, grease with butter and arrange the marinated paneer ensuring that the paneer holds as much dressing as possible.

Step 5: Cook in medium heat so that paneer gets cooked well and then flip carefully with tongs. Drizzle some more butter and when done transfer delicately to serving plates as the tikkas have turned softer by now.

Step 6: Serve with green yoghurt chutney. This is prepared by grinding: a fistful mint leaves, a fistful coriander leaves, a green chili, a clove of garlic, juice of half a lemon, salt and then mixing it with whisked hung curds. So simple na… I am a bigger admirer of this chutney than the starter itself. I keep licking it even before the starter comes on table and after we finish the starter ;)