Recipe - Kofta curry of Bottle gourd/ Ghiya

Recipe: Bottle Gourd KOFTA CURRY

Servings: 4

Preparation and Cooking Time: 40 minutes approx.

World over, the humble bottle-gourd is known by different names. In India itself it is called- Ghiya, Dudhi, Lauki, Sorakaya, Lau, Aal, Churakka, Jatilao, Sajmain, Anapakaya,etc.! The Chinese word for this is  hulu (simplified Chinese: 葫芦; traditional Chinese: 葫蘆;pinyin: húlu) or huzi (Chinese: 葫子; pinyin: húzi) in Mandarin.Two common kinds of calabash sold in Chinese stores are the "Opo" kind, which is elongated but still plump, and "Mao Gua" which is very similar to Opo, but it has hairsIn Japan, the species is known as hyōtan (瓢箪, 瓢簞^?) or yūgao (夕顔^?), with the former word referring particularly to the larger-fruiting variety whose fruits are used mostly for making containers or other handicrafts and the latter referring to the smaller-fruiting variety whose fruits are more edible. Names used to refer particularly to the fruit of one or another variety of this species include fukube (瓠, 瓢, ふくべ^?) and hisago (瓠, 匏, 瓢, ひさご^?). It is most commonly sold in the form of dried, marinated strips known as kanpyō, and is commonly used as an ingredient for making makizushi (rolled sushi).

In Korea, it is known as bak (박) or jorongbak (조롱박).In Burma, it is known as boo thee, a popular fruit; young leaves are also boiled and eaten with spicy hot, fermented fish sauce called nga peet. In the Philippines, it is known as upo. In Italian cuisine, it is known as cucuzza(plural cucuzze).(Wikipedia).
Well, that's a really long introduction to this rather un-exotic vegetable!!


Health-benefits: Ayurveda  regards bottle gourd as a health-booster, which  has immense nutritional value. It is known to be helpful in tackling Heart-disease, Jaundice, High Blood-Pressure, Liver function,reducing baldness,tackling greying of hair,constipation,fatigue,indigestion, acidity, diabetes and so on.


Koftas:In the Indian sub-continent, Vegetarian koftas( looking like Manchurian balls or meatballs) are prepared in a variety of ways, like those made with bottle gourd, raw bananas, arbi( colocasia or taro root), cottage cheese, mixed vegetables etc..
 Here I am mentioning a recipe, which is light in taste because it does not include chickpea flour( besan), which tends to give you a heavy feeling after consuming. We will use a few spoons of dried potato powder or simply mashed potatoes.


 Ingredients:


 For the Koftas-
 Fresh green bottle gourd- 500 grams
 Potato powder or boiled and mashed potatoes- 200 grams
 Salt- 2 pinches
 Oil for frying
  
For the gravy/ curry:
Onion- 2 medium sized 
Tomato purée- 200 grams( I use Godrej Smart Cook)
Fresh tomatoes- 2 
Fresh Coriander chopped- 2 tablespoons
Garlic cloves (optional)- 8 cloves
Green chillies- 2 
Bay leaves- 2 (large)
Cumin seeds- 1/2 teaspoon
Red Chilli powder- 1/4 teaspoon
*Garam masala- 1/4 teaspoon
Ginger paste- 1 teaspoon
Coriander powder- 1 tablespoon 
Salt- 1 teaspoon ( or as per personal taste)
Turmeric powder/ haldi- 1/2 teaspoon
Cooking oil- 1 tablespoon
Water- 600 ml

*Garam masala is a blend of spices like black pepper, black cardamom, cinnamon, clove, green cardamom etc.


Method:
 Peel the lauki/ bottle gourd and then grate it on a kaddukas/ grater/ shredder or in a food processor. Add 2 pinches of salt and keep it aside for some time (10-15 minutes). Thereafter squeeze the excess water and add the mashed potatoes (or powder) to it. Mix it to a dough like consistency.
Now wet your palm and put a spoon-full of the dough into it and shape it like a ball. ( Alternatively, you can make flattened versions of the same in your palm, since that is easier!)
Heat the oil  in a wok,on a high flame till its smoking point,then reduce the flame to medium, and fry these koftas until they are golden brown. Care must be taken regulate the flame in such a way, that the koftas do not get burnt from the outside or remain uncooked from the inside!
Place the prepared koftas on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.


 Now, to prepare the curry/ gravy. Grate the onions, finely chop the green chillies, garlic cloves and tomatoes. Heat oil in a wok and add the cumin seeds; when they start spluttering add the green chillies,bay leaves, grated onions,chopped garlic,and ginger paste.  Stir frequently so that the mixture does not stick to the base.After two minutes sprinkle the turmeric powder, coriander powder,red chilli powder, garam masala and salt. Reduce the flame and let the mixture simmer until the oil starts separating from it. Now add the chopped tomatoes, stir for three minutes on medium flame and then pour the tomato purée into it. Stir for a few minutes until the colour deepens to a darker shade, and now add the water. Allow this to boil for 5 minutes. Remove from flame.


Keep the gravy and koftas separately. You immerse the koftas in the gravy, 10 minutes before you serve.( otherwise they might dissolve in the gravy!!)
Garnish with fresh chopped coriander and have it with Indian Breads or as an accompaniment to whatever you fancy! Enjoy!!