Lauki ke Kofte

Hello beautiful people!! How have you been spending your Friday? Well, I got to have a very busy day as it was my month's fridge clean-up operation task. So looking into the things I planned to prepare something out of the things left in the fridge, I had #bottlegourd and other things remaining to combine together, so I came up with #LaukiKeKofte to cook. The recipe was quite quick and easy as I had a very lesser time to prepare than the other days but somehow managed to take a few snaps to share the recipe with some of the very few ingredients that could make a tasty delectable Kofta curry without a much of hotchpotch.

Koftas are basically vegetable dumplings or ball sized deeply fried delicacies, generously dipped in a luscious amount of gravy cooked together. Koftas are juicy, succulent, tasty and mouthwatering delectables prepared mostly in the central part of India. People love having them just deeply fried vegan balls or giving it a royal touch with the gravy to make the dish super rich and delicious. The recipe is less tedious, however, it brings out the satisfaction and pleasure of having it along with some naan (Indian roti) or rice.

Koftas are made with many other vegetables, but in my recipe, I've used the juicy bottle gourd since I had only this vegetable in the fridge today. The dish is healthier and tastier, also the slight crunchiness in the fried balls makes the recipe super yummy. The other Kofta recipe I shared on this blog was Cabbage Kofta which you may like too. Prepare this quick and easy recipe that I've shared below with step by step pictures and instructions-

Tips: Do not leave the bottle gourd mixture even for 5 minutes after mixing up the ingredients as they will start releasing water, make koftas immediately and fry them.

[Veg]

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Recipe Type: Curry

Course: Side

Cuisine: Indian

Serves: 4

Measuring Items: 1 cup=150 ml, Teaspoon

Ingredients:

1. Bottle gourd- 1 whole
2. Peanuts- half a cup
3. Tomato- 4
4. Onion- 2 (large sized)
5. Green chili- 5
6. Garlic- 8 cloves
7. Ginger- an inch
8. Coriander leaves
9. Besan (gram flour)- 2 cups (as per consistency of the mixture)

Spices:

1. Turmeric powder- 1 Tsp
2. Red Mirchi powder- 2 Tsp
3. Cumin powder- 1 Tsp
4. Coriander powder- 2 Tsp
5. Cumin seeds (Jeera)- 2 Tsp
6. Salt- for taste
7. Oil- for frying
8. Hing (asafoetida)- a pinch
9. Bay leaf- 1

Method:

How to prepare ‘Lauki ke Kofte’ with step by step pictures and instructions-

1. Peel and grate the bottle gourd.
   
2. Take a cloth or a chheni (strainer), squeeze the extra water released by bottle gourd and save for later use.
   
3. Roast peanuts, dry red Mirchi, Cumin seeds for 2 minutes.
   
4. And also some cubed tomatoes, onions, green chilies, ginger, and garlic.
   
5. Blend the roasted ingredients all together in a mixie grinder.
   
6. Now take a huge mixing bowl, add the powdered ingredients with grated bottle gourd and finely chopped coriander leaves.
   
7. Mix all those ingredients properly.
   
8. Start making ball sized koftas and fry them at the same moment.
   
9. Deep fry the koftas in batches.
   
10. Keep the fried koftas aside.
    
11. Now heat a quarter cup of oil in a pan, add bay leaf, cumin seeds, and hing.
    
12. Now add sliced onions and green chilies. Fry for 2 minutes.
    
13. Pour in the blended paste and mix well.
    
14. Now add the water released by bottle gourd and bring to a boil.
    
15. Add the fried koftas and garnish with coriander leaves.
    

This is how I managed to prepare the very infamous Lauki ke Kofte with a very few of the ingredients that were available to me. I like to experiment with my recipes giving them a whole new perspective keeping the traditional touch intact. And my family is my biggest critic for bringing the flaws in my cooking, however, they all have turned out to be tasty and healthy dishes whenever I've prepared and served them with love. Enjoy this simple Kofta curry with bottle gourd and tell me how you liked it. I would be glad to hear from you. Till then enjoy cooking, serving and eating!!

Paromita Pramanick ©2018. All Rights Reserved.