Some vegetarian food is so good that you would not miss any non veg food for a single minute. This is one of those recipes. Lauki or bottle gourd (also called Calabash) is cooked in many places in the world from East Asia to Southeast Asia to South Asia. In India it is known as doodhi, ghiya or lauki. Interestingly, lauki can be used to make both savory and sweet items of food. It is rich in fiber and aids in indigestion. Being low in calories it is therefore also good to eat when you are on a diet. Instead of frying, these koftas are fried with a little oil in the ebelskiver pan @sarchakra
PREP TIME: 20 mins
COOK TIME: 20 mins
YIELDS: Serves 3
Ingredients
For the Koftas
- Lauki (doodhi) 2 cups
- Salt
- Turmeric 2 tsp
- Green chilies 4, finely chopped
- Red chili powder 1 tbsp (adjust accordingly)
- Gram flour (besan) ½ cup
- Garam masala powder 2 tsp
- Coriander chutney 1 tbsp
- Oil for frying
For the Curry
- Red onion 1, chopped
- Cherry tomatoes a handful
- Cashews a handful
- Oil 2 tbsp
- Cumin seeds 1 tbsp
- Ginger paste 2 tsp
- Garlic paste 2 tsp
- Red chili powder 2 tsp
- Cumin powder 2 tsp
- Coriander powder 1 tbsp
- Garam Masala powder 2 tsp
- Kasuri methi 1 tsp
Method
- Grate lauki. Using a cheesecloth squeeze out the extra liquid. Reserve the water.
- In a bowl put in grated lauki, gram flour, chopped green chilies, red chili powder, garam masala powder, turmeric powder and salt. Mix everything together.
- Heat 1 tsp of oil in the akelskiver pan. Make small balls out of the mixture and put them in each slot. Cook all sides till done. Reserve.
- In a blender put in chopped onion, cashews and cherry tomatoes. Blitz into a paste without adding any water. Keep aside.
- Heat oil in the pan. Put in cumin seeds, the tomato- onion-cashew paste, ginger and garlic paste. Fry the mixture in a medium flame till the oil starts to leave the sides of the pan.
- Add in the dry spices now: cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder, salt and garam masala powder. Fry again till the mixture is completely cooked.
- Add 1 cup of water, bring to a boil. Turn the heat down, cover and cook. Gently add the koftas into the pan and keep it covered for a minute.
- Before serving crush some kasuri methi in the palm of your hands and sprinkle on the koftas. Serve with rice.
sarchakra 