Lauki Raita (Bottle Gourd Raita)

Ingredients:

100-125g (1-1 1/3 cups) grated bottle gourd (calabash, opo squash, lauki, ghiya)
1/5 tsp salt (for cooking the bottle gourd)
320ml (1 1/3 cups) Curd (dahi or yogurt), chilled
320-400ml (1 1/3 to 1 2/3 cups) water
2/3 to 1 1/3 tsp finely chopped green chillies
2/3 tsp toasted cumin powder
2 generous pinches Garam Masala (optional)
black salt or sea salt, to taste

Method:

Cooking the bottle gourd:
Rinse and peel bottle gourd then grate the flesh so you have about 250ml (1 cup) of grated bottle gourd flesh. Turn the grated gourd into a pan and add 300ml (1 ¼ cups) water. Stir well to combine, add the salt and place over medium heat. Simmer and cook until the bottle gourd softens (about 10 minutes).

Strain the cooked bottle gourd in a sieve. Press with the back of a spoon so that all the water is extracted from the cooked bottle gourd. You can also press the lauki between your palms when the cooked lauki has cooled sufficiently. (For a quick way to do this, just add the cooked lauki to a bowl of cold water. Then strain and squeeze out the excess liquid.)

Don’t throw away the strained water, it makes an excellent flavouring added to dal (lentils) or to any vegetable recipe.

Preparing the lauki raita:
Whisk the chilled curd (or yoghurt) until smooth. Add the cooked lauki and chopped green chillies, followed by the toasted cumin, a pinch or two of garam masala powder and black salt or regular salt.

Mix very well and serve immediately or chill (refrigerate) and serve later in a couple of hours. You can garnish with coriander leaves just prior to serving.