Simple lauki with Milk Curry

My experiments in kitchen I think have in general turned out to be palatable. Here I share some simple food that I cook .... have been cooking ..... so that the experiments live on......... I will try and post pictures wherever possible. Will also try and add pictures of the process whenever I can. I will take care not to blog about anything that I don't cook myself.

Happy Cooking and eating.............

Simple Lauki Milk Curry

Most people do not like lauki ( Bottle Gourd as it is called in English)as it has no taste of its own. In fact in South Indian brahmin households it is considered  a taboo vegetable. But I like the buttery texture as it blends with the masalas and takes on a different avtaar each time you cook it differently. . Bottle gourd comes in different shapes. It is always best to choose ones with tender skin. The seeds need to be buttery. Over ripe gourds don't turn out to be edible. The best way to check if it is tender is to gently dig your finger nail into the skin. If it breaks easily then it is tender and can be bought.

More lauki recipes to come

Ingredients:

Lauki cut into small pieces               :  2 large cups
Milk                                               :   one cup milk
Onion                                             :   one
Tomato                                           :  2 large
Green chillies                                   :  Two or three ( depending on its sharpness or scoville units :))
Milk powder                                   : 2 teaspoons (optional) 
Salt to taste, a pinch of garam masala, a pinch of haldi, a pinch of sugar, half tea spoon jeera
Cilantro or Dhania patta for garnishing
A little Oil ( a few teaspoons) for frying the ground onions


Method:

Microwave bottle gourd/ lauki pieces with very little water until done
Microwave cut tomatoes with just a little water, let it cool and puree in a blender
Peel and grind the onion and green chillies in a blender.
Heat the oil. splutter half a teaspoon of jeera/ cumin. Add  the ground onion paste.
Fry a little.( until the raw smell of onion is gone)
Add the tomato puree, salt, sugar, garam masala, haldi, sugar and milk.
Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the lauki. Boil on low heat for another 5 minutes.
Add the Milk and garnish with dhania patta.

• Note:Goes well with chapatis and rice. If you are eating rice then you can make it a little watery.

• The sugar is there only to cut the tangy taste of  tomatoes.

• Delhites call lauki "Ghia"........ so I grew up knowing this vegetable as Ghia.