Dum ki Lauki

The bottle gourd is high on my list of favorite vegetables.
However, when I tell people how I like to eat it, they usually look at me like I'm a total nutcase.
I like my bottle gourd boiled. No salt. Nothing. Just boil it and give it to me and I will eat it. Whats more I will be grateful and happy.

Now try that with my husband. I guarantee he will have ordered a pizza so fast your head will swim.

And so I conjure up ways to introduce this harmless, almost tasteless gourd into his diet. For you see, the health benefits of it are many.

According to Ayurveda this particular gourd (aka opo squash or calabash) helps to:
1. Alkalize the body
2. Cool our bodies in the summer months
3. Detoxify (high fibre and liver cleanser)
4. Acts as a diuretic

And while I do suppose the best way to get these benefits out of it would be to eat it the way I do, or possibly make juice out of it ... let us for now focus on getting the good stuff into the picky eater.

Dum ki Lauki 

I discovered this recipe in India Cookbook by Pushpesh Pant and modified it to a point where it might seem more appropriate to call it "inspired by" as opposed to "adapted from". The original recipe calls for Garam masala and dry ginger powder (soonth). It also does not include the dry mango powder (amchoor). The proportions of the spices added are different too.

I have used:
1. A 10 inch long bottle gourd cut into bite sized pieces
2. Coriander leaves (Cilantro) - Chopped fine
3. Green Chillies - 2

Spices:
1. Cumin - 1 tbsp
2. Fenugreek Seeds - 6 little grains
3. Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
4. Grated Ginger - 1 tsp
5. Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp 
6. Turmeric - 1 tsp
7. Paprika - 1 tsp
8. Dry mango powder - 1 tsp 

How I went about it:

I took my trusty ol' frying pan (kadai) and added cumin seeds to 1 tbsp of hot oil. Followed this up with the grated ginger and asafoetida.
Fifteen seconds after the ginger and asafoetida, I added the gourd and stirred them around.

Then came the spices.

With everyone in the pot, I covered the whole thing with as tight-fitting a lid I could find and turned the heat on as low as possible. It was ready in about 30 minutes at which point I added the chopped coriander leaves and tossed them around once again. 

Moru kootan

You will need: 

White pumpkin - sliced, bite sized pieces- approximately 2 cups 

Grated fresh coconut - 1/4 cup  

Curd - 1 cup or Yogurt diluted with water 1:1 

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Green chillies (Serrano/Thai) - 4 (discard seeds if you don't want it hot) 

Dry Red Chillies - 2 

Black mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin - 1 tsp. 

Fenugreek seeds - 4 (itty bitty sized seeds)

Coconut oil.  

Salt. 

Begin: 

Place the pumpkin in a sauce pan and adding water 

to just about submerge all the pieces. 

Add the turmeric and bring to a boil. 

Continue to cook till the pumpkin is tender. 

Once its cooked, add salt. 

Curry paste: 

Add coconut, cumin, green chillies, and curry leaves 

(after setting aside 3 - 4 leaves for the tadka) 

into your food processor and process till all 

ingredients are well blended. Add a little curd 

or diluted yogurt to the processor to speed 

things up if necessary, especially if the mix is too dry. 

The finale: 

Once the pumpkin is cooked, add the curry paste 

and curd/yogurt to the sauce pan and bring it to a 

boil. Once it does, turn off the heat.  

Add the tadka of mustard, curry leaves, fenugreek 

seeds, and dry red chillies spluttered in coconut oil, 

preferably. 

That's it!