Homestyle Dudhi/Bottle Gourd - Lauki ki Sabzi

Lauki ki Sabzi

Lauki Sabzi is a delicious traditional curry made with Bottle Gourd, which is also known as Dudhi in some regions. Lauki is rich in dietary fiber both soluble and insoluble and hence it is considered a great ingredient for weight-loss diet. It consists of 96% water. It’s low in saturated fat and cholesterol.

This homestyle North Indian curry recipe features perfectly cooked bottle gourd in a savory tomato base with a much gentle blend of spices.

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp Bloom Organic mustard seed
1/2 tsp Bloom Organic cumin seed
1/4 tsp asafoetida hing
1/2 tsp Bloom Organic turmeric powder
500 gm bottle gourd washed, peeled and chopped
1 medium tomato chopped
1 potato washed, peeled and chopped
1 tsp Bloom Organic red chili powder or as per spice level required
1/2 tsp Bloom Organic coriander powder
1/2 tsp Bloom Organic cumin powder
1 tsp Bloom Organic jaggery grated or sugar
2 tbsp water
Lunn salt to taste
coriander for garnishing

Directions

In a pressure cooker or pan, heat ghee, to this add mustard seeds and cumin seeds and let it crackle. Add asafoetida (Hing) and turmeric powder.
Add one chopped tomato. Sauté for a minute.
Add chopped bottle gourd and potato.
Add red chili powder, coriander-cumin powder, jaggery, and salt.
Add a little water. (Do not add too much water as the bottle gourd releases water while cooking)
Close the pressure cooker and cook for 4 whistles on high heat and 2 on low flame. If cooking in a pan, cover and cook for 15 mins on medium flame till vegetables are tender and all spices incorporated.
Garnish with coriander and serve with piping hot Rotis and ghee.

Recipe Notes

Wash the lauki first and then cut off each end to remove the stems before peeling. You can use a knife to remove the skin from the gourd, but I find a peeler is often easier to work with.
Avoid bottle gourds that are soft or not a pale green in color.
Cut the bottle gourd into four lengthwise strips before cutting into cubes, this makes it easier to remove large seeds and cut the gourd into roughly equal sizes.
You can cut in roughly 1 or 2 inch cube sizes.

About the Contributor

This recipe is contributed by Ayurvedic Health Educator, Heena Desai. You can follow her on social media channel - @ojas_life where she talks about purity of food and healthy lifestyles.