Kofte Recipe: Light and Flavorful Lauki Kofta Curry

wellhealthorganic.com Kofte Recipe: Lauki Kofta, a delightful dish hailing from North Indian cuisine, features tender koftas crafted from bottle gourd immersed in a light, tomato-based gravy. Bottle gourd, known by various names such as calabash, opo squash, or long melon in English, and lauki, dudhi, or ghia in several Indian languages, forms the heart of this recipe.

Kofte Recipe

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Cuisine: North Indian

Course: Main Course

Diet: Vegan

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Ingredients:

For Lauki Kofta:

• 2 cups grated bottle gourd (lauki, dudhi, ghia, opo squash, long melon, calabash)
• 4 tablespoons gram flour (besan)
• ¼ teaspoon Garam Masala
• ¼ teaspoon red chili powder
• ½ teaspoon finely chopped green chili or 1 green chili
• Salt, as required
• Oil, for deep or shallow frying the koftas

For Masala Paste:

• 2 large-sized tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 medium-sized onion, roughly chopped
• ½ to 1 teaspoon chopped green chilies or 1 green chili
• 1 teaspoon chopped ginger or 1 inch peeled ginger
• 4 to 5 small to medium-sized garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons cashews, broken or roughly chopped

Other Ingredients:

Also Read: Mirchi Vada

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• ¼ or ½ teaspoon red chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• ¼ or ½ teaspoon Garam Masala
• 1 cup water, or as required
• 2 tablespoons oil (if using fresh oil)
• Salt, as required
• ½ teaspoon sugar, optional

Instructions:

Making Lauki Kofta:

1. Rinse and peel the bottle gourd, then grate it to yield 2 cups of grated lauki.
2. Ensure the bottle gourd isn't bitter by tasting it before peeling and grating. Discard if bitter.
3. Squeeze the grated lauki to collect the juice in a separate bowl.
4. Combine all kofta ingredients except oil, shaping the mixture into small round balls or patties.
5. Heat oil in a kadai or frying pan, and fry the koftas until evenly golden browned. Drain excess oil on paper towels.

Making Masala Paste:

1. Blend all masala paste ingredients until smooth, adding water if necessary. Avoid adding too much water to prevent spluttering while frying.

Making Lauki Kofta Gravy:

1. Remove excess oil from the frying pan, leaving about 2 tablespoons or use fresh oil.
2. Heat oil and fry cumin seeds until they splutter. Then add the masala paste.
3. Sauté on medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often. Add ground spice powders and continue sautéing until the paste thickens and appears glossy.
4. Add lauki juice and about 1 cup water to the masala paste. Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes until the curry thickens.
5. Finally, add the fried koftas, switch off the heat, and let them soak in the gravy for a few minutes.
6. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with roti, naan, or jeera rice.

Also Read: Kosambari 

Notes:

• If water is added to the kofta mixture to make a pakoda-like batter, include some gram flour.
• If making lauki pakoda, serve them with the gravy separately to avoid absorbing all the curry.
• Avoid using overly tangy or sour tomatoes.
• Sugar can be added to the gravy for a sweeter taste.