Lauki (Bottle gourd) Kofta Curry | Gayathiri's Cookbook

Lauki (Bottle gourd) Kofta Curry:

This is another popular(like malai kofta) Indian kofta curry made from bottlegourd.
Bottlegourd/Lauki is one of the healthiest vegetable. It is high on water content and is a rich source of vitamins. It helps maintain glucose levels, cholesterol and blood pressure levels.
This gravy goes well with roti, Parathas, poori and rice.

For a low-fat version :
You can fry Lauki balls in paniyaram kal using little oil, instead of deep frying .
You can use cashew paste or yogurt ,instead of heavy cream.


Ingredients:
Oil- As needed
Onions-3
Ginger garlic paste- 1 teaspoon
Tomatoes-6
Cashews-10
Bottlegourd-1(approx. 1 cup)
Turmeric powder-1 +1 teaspoon
Salt-1 + 1 teaspoon
Sugar-1.5 teaspoon
Red chilly powder-1 +2 teaspoons
Garam Masala powder-1 +2 teaspoons
Cumin powder-2 teaspoon
Coriander powder-2 teaspoon
Gramflour-3 teaspoons
Bay leaves-2
Fennel seeds-1 teaspoon
Cinnamon stick-1
Heavy cream-1/2 cup
Kasuri methi-1 teaspoon


Directions:
1. Heat 2 teaspoon oil. Add onions and sauté until translucent. Add ginger garlic paste and sauté for a minute
2. Add tomatoes and cashews. Sauté until tomatoes get soft.
3. Let it cool down and grind into fine paste.
4. Peel the skin off the bottlegourd and grate it finely.Squeeze out water completely.
5. Take squeezed bottlegourd in a bowl. Add turmeric powder, salt, red chilly powder, Garam Masala powder and gram flour.
6. Mix everything to form a soft dough. Miake small round balls of that mixture.
7. Heat oil over medium flame.Fry Lauki balls until golden brown.
8. Heat 2 tsp oil. Add bay leaves, cinnamon stick and fennel seeds . Fry for a minute. Then add the ground paste, turmeric powder, salt, sugar, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and Garam Masala powder.
9. Let it boil until the raw smell of masala powder disappears.
10. Add heavy cream . Let it boil on low flame for 2-3 minutes.
11. Add 1 tsp Kasuri methi and then switch off the flame.
12. Add Lauki balls to the gravy before serving. Or You can place the Lauki balls on the serving plate and then pour the sauce around for nice presentation.