Bottlegourd/lauki/doodhi Kofta

Last week had been gloomy. The cough and cold hovered over me and I hardly cooked anything properly. Just managed with rice, dal, roties and some mix curries. And it’s this small hibernation that pushes your tastebuds to crave for something hot and yummy. I checked that it was a Saturday. We do our grocery shopping on Sunday mornings and that means there would limited items in my veggie box. I looked into the fridge and my stuffy nose crinkled at the sight of the bottlegourd/lauki/doodhi. Oh not again. I didn have the heart to visit the supermarket at that moment but I was determined to eat something spicy and yummy. That is when meri dimag ki batti jal gayi. Lauki koftas....... My mouth watered and I went back to my hostel days where it used to be served as Sunday special. Oh how much I enjoyed those koftas with rice. Generally kofta gravy  don’t contain potatoes but it was used in our hostel mess back then and I loved it like that. So you will find it my recipe too. Hope you enjoy it too.

Ingredients:

For koftas

3 cups grated lauki

3 tbs finely chopped onion

1 tbs grated ginger

1 tsp finely chopped green chillies

3 tbs besan (chickpea flour)

1 tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste

For the masala/spice paste

2 tsp cumin powder

2 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp black pepper powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

8 cloves of garlic

1 inch ginger

For tempering/chaunk

1 tbs mustard oil

1 tbs ghee

1 tsp whole cumin seeds

1-2 bay leaf

For gravy

1 cup boiled and lightly crushed potatoes

2 cups of finely chopped onion

2 cups of fresh tomato paste

½ tsp garam masala powder

Turmeric powder

Salt

Method:

For koftas: After grating the lauki/doodhi leave aside for 5 -10 min ( you can prepare the masala in the meanwhile). It will leave lot of liquid. Squeeze out the liquid as much as possible. Now add rest of the ingredients for the koftas and mix well. Heat oil in a kadai. Make medium round balls and deep fry them over medium flame till the colour is brown. Keep them aside.

Grind together all the ingredients of the masala/spice medium thick paste using little water.

For gravy: Heat oil and ghee in kadai. Add cumin seeds and let them splutter. Add bay leaves. Sauté. Add chopped onions and sauté them on medium flame till they turn golden in colour. Add the masala/spice paste, turmeric and salt. Mix well and fry on medium heat till the paste starts leaving the sides of the kadai. Stir continuously. Once the oil separated, add the tomato paste and mix. Lower the flame, cover and leave it for 5 minutes. You will notice that the paste and the tomatoes are cooked. Add the potatoes and mix. Add 2 ½  cups of water and bring it to a boil. Slowly add the fried koftas. Let it simmer for 3 minutes. Add the garam masala. Mix. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Serve with rice or chapatti.