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Lauki Kofta Curry (Bottle Gourd Kofta Curry)

Lauki Kofta Curry (Bottle Gourd Kofta Curry) is a traditional Gujarati Indian recipe for a classic curry of bottle gourd koftas in a curd and tomato curry gravy with cashew nuts. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Indian version of: Bottle Gourd Kofta Curry (Lauki Kofta Curry).

prep time

10 minutes

cook time

35 minutes

Total Time:

45 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating:

Tags : CurryVegetarian RecipesSpice RecipesVegetable RecipesIndian Recipes

Bottle gourd, known as lauki (ghiya) in Hindi and Dudhi in Gujarati, is generally not that popular a vegetable, as it tends to be bitter if not prepared properly. However, it can be used to prepare on of the best vegetarian Indian curries — Lauki Kofta Curry in which deep-fried koftas are made of grated bottle gourd, gram flour, rice flour and ginger-garlic paste are presented in spicy gravy of tomato and cashew nuts. I was shown these by Indian friends in South Africa (Indian Indian in this case, not South African Indian). We'd gone out to the local weekend vegetable market. I'd made my purchases, including jackfruit, which I love and which will work as a substitute in this recipe, snake gourds, amadumbe and cassava (which they didn't know) when I noticed that they had bought bottle gourds. I told then that I always found it too bitter when I tried to cook it and asked them what they would do with it. A couple of days later I was invited over to see the preparation of this curry. Note that you will need to peel the bottle gourds before starting this recipe.

Ingredients:

340g (1½ cups) grated Lauki (bottle gourd/ghiya/doodhi)
5 tbsp Gram (chickpea) Flour
2 tbsp Rice Flour
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 Green Chilli, finely chopped
1/2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
2 tbsp onion, finely chopped
Oil for deep frying
Salt to taste

For the Curry Gravy:
2 medium Tomatoes
2 tbsp Cashew Nuts, soaked in 2 tbsp water for 20 minutes
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
1/2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
2 medium Onions, finely chopped
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
60ml (1/4 cup) thick Curd (or Greek-style yoghurt)
180ml (3/4 cup) Water
2 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

Method:

Peel the bottle gourd then grate coarsely. Place in a cloth and wring out the excess liquid into a bowl (reserve the liquid for the gravy). Transfer the drained gourd pieces into a bowl then add the gram flour, rice flour, turmeric powder, ginger-garlic paste, finely chopped green chilli and finely chopped onion. Season to taste with a little salt then mix the ingredients thoroughly.

The resultant mixture should be thick enough to allow you to shape into balls. If too liquid add 1-2 tsp extra gram flour. If too still add a little water. Note that the gourd will release more liquid as it sits, so you should make the koftas straight before you want to fry them. However, once deep fried they will keep in the fridge, so you can prepare the day before.

Grease your hands with a little oil then divide the gourd mixture into 10-12 portions. Shape each portion into a ball.

Heat oil in a deep frying pan or wok (you need a sufficient depth to deep fry the koftas). When the oil has reached about 180C (when a cube of bread turns golden in 2 minutes) carefully slide in the koftas (you will need to do this is batches of about 4 at a time) and fry, turning occasionally until golden brown and crisp on the outside. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on kitchen paper to drain as you cook the next batch.

For the curry gravy, cut a cross in the base of the tomatoes. Place in the pan, take off the heat, cover and set aside to blanch for 5 minutes. Remove tomato with a slotted spoon, allow to cool until it can be handled then use the cross you cut in the base to peel off the skin. Repeat with the remaining tomatoes. Chop coarsely, transfer to a food processor along with the soaked cashew nuts and render to a puree.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a saucepan or wok over medium heat. Once hot add the cumin seeds and cook until they splutter. Add the ginger-garlic paste and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Now add the chopped onion and stir-fry until soft and translucent (about 2-3 minutes).

Stir in the tomato-cashew paste and fry for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Scatter over the red chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala and turmeric powder. Stir to combine then season to taste with salt. Cook the mixture for 1 minute.

Fold in the curd (or yoghurt) and stir-fry for 1 minute. Carefully add the koftas and cook for 5-6 minutes, until heated through.

Take off the heat, turn into a warmed serving dish, garnish with coriander leaves and bring to the table.