Its been a weekend filled with birthday celebrations. My baby girl (who is not such a baby anymore) turned 10. And just the day before hers, my mother celebrated her own. For everyone who knows me intimately, birthdays are just not my thing. But I make exceptions for this darling bonsai of a person in my life. She is so modest in her needs and never really asked for anything for her birthday. (Which might be a trick because then I tend to shower her with more!) But, she did request a rainbow cake. And a rainbow cake she got! (on the blog soon)
It is a pleasure to see a person form into themselves. And that you might play a small part in who they become. I may have pooh-poohed ideas Ma floated to me decades ago but internally they formed me and I am so grateful. My streak of independence and rebellion I owe solely to her. She gave me my self worth. Of always trying things myself before asking for help. Of being strong. Of questioning traditions that apply only to women and have no meaning. It was she that taught me to question things in general and not to accept them blindly.
She also taught me to love lauki! Or ghiya or bottle gourd. It is the most hated vegetable in the fraternity of kids. ๐ Many a parent will use it to blackmail with great success. But I loved it. Maybe because ma made it so well.
Lauki is also unbelievably good for health. Drink its juice first thing in the morning, and you could lose weight and get a ton of healthy nutrients inside like Vitamin C, Vitamin B, sodium, iron and potassium. It is supposed to be fantastic for high blood pressure and to calm down liver inflammation too. It really is a super food hiding in the skin of a vegetable given such a bad reputation.
I will share the recipe for a super healthy lauki juice another time but today it is going to be a delicious delicious curry just the way Ma made it. We use the juice for the gravy anyway. Try it and you will not be sorry.
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- For the Kofta
- 1 cup lauki/bottle gourd, peeled and grated
- 3 tbsps gram/besan flour
- 2 tbsps bread crumbs
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 2-3 green chilies, add more or less according to taste
- 1 tbsp ginger paste
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- salt to taste
- oil for deep frying
- For the Gravy
- 3 medium tomatoes, skin removed
- 2 tbsps cashew nuts, soaked for at least 30 minutes
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp ginger paste
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 2 medium onions, pureed
- 2 tsps coriander powder
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- ½ tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- ¼ cup thick yoghurt
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsps oil
- salt to taste
- To prepare the koftas, peel and grate the lauki/bottle gourd. Since this vegetable is 95% water, squeeze out as much juice as you can and keep separately. Do not throw away. We are going to use this juice for the gravy.
- Take the grated lauki in a large bowl and add the gram flour, bread crumbs, turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste, finely chopped onions and chilies and salt. Mix well with hands. The consistency should be thick so that you can form balls. Work fast, as the lauki will continue to shed water and you don't want soggy balls. Grease your palms with a little bit of oil and divide the mixture into about 9-10 portions. Take each portion and form into a ball.
- Heat oil at high in a wok. When the oil is hot, reduce heat to medium and add 3-4 balls at a time. Stir occasionally and deep fry until golden brown. Drain excess oil using a slotted spoon and place on a kitchen towel.
- To prepare the gravy, heat the oil in a wok. Add the cumin seeds and cook until they begin to sputter. Add the ginger garlic paste and stir fry for a 3-4 minutes. Add chopped onions and stir fry till they become transparent. Puree the tomatoes and cashews together and add to the onions on the fire. Stir fry for another 10 minutes.
- Add all the dry spices and cook for a few minutes till the spices are nicely incorporated. Add the yoghurt and mix well. Cook for around ten minutes or till the raw smell of the tomatoes and onions is gone.
- Add the lauki water (which we kept aside from after squeezing the grated lauki). Add the water and cook for another 5-8 minutes. The gravy should reduce a little. At this point add the kofta balls and cook for some 5-6 minutes. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve hot with naan or basmati rice.
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