The moment bottle gourd is mentioned at home, it is not just the children who frown, even the grown-ups lose interest. Yet this very ordinary looking vegetable, when cooked with the right tempering and a handful of special spices, can taste richer than shahi paneer or a chicken curry. Today we are sharing a dhaba style recipe for bottle gourd that is so good even the people who usually avoid it will reach out for a second helping. Here is the complete method to make it.
What You Will Need
Start with 500 grams of bottle gourd, chopped into small pieces. Keep ready one teaspoon of salt, one teaspoon of turmeric powder and half a cup of water.
For the secret tempering and gravy, keep one tablespoon of gram flour, which will thicken the gravy. For the dry spices you will need half a teaspoon of turmeric, one teaspoon of Kashmiri red chilli, one teaspoon of hot red chilli, one teaspoon of coriander powder and one teaspoon of salt to taste.
To boost the flavour, keep half a teaspoon of kitchen king masala, half a teaspoon of kasuri methi and half a teaspoon of garam masala. For the finishing touch you will need one tablespoon of fresh malai or fresh cream and some finely chopped coriander leaves.
First Prepare The Paste And The Spice Mix
Begin by adding tomato, garlic, ginger, green chilli and a little water to a mixer jar, and grind it into a perfectly smooth paste. Set this aside. Next, coarsely crush the whole coriander, cumin and fennel seeds. This coarse spice mix is what will later give the dish its special aroma.
Roasting The Bottle Gourd Is The Most Important Step
Place a pan on the stove and heat a little oil on a high flame. Now add the chopped bottle gourd. Remember one key point here, do not add salt or turmeric at the start, otherwise the bottle gourd will release water and will not roast properly. After roasting for one minute on a high flame, add half a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of turmeric.
Continue to roast on a high flame for three to four minutes, until the bottle gourd turns lightly golden. After that, add half a cup of water, cover it and cook on a medium to low flame for three to four minutes, so that the bottle gourd is about 60 to 70 percent done. Then switch off the gas.
Now Make The Rich Gravy
In a separate pan, add mustard oil and heat it until it starts to smoke. As soon as the oil is hot, lower the flame and add asafoetida along with the coarsely crushed spice mix. Immediately add the finely chopped onion and saute it on a medium flame for six to seven minutes until lightly golden. Be careful not to brown the onion too much.
Next, add one tablespoon of gram flour to the fried onion and roast it well on a low flame so that the raw taste of the flour disappears completely. Now mix in the turmeric, Kashmiri red chilli, coriander powder and hot red chilli powder. After roasting the spices for about a minute, add the soaked fenugreek seeds along with their water to keep the spices from burning.
Time For The Tomato Paste And Malai
Now add the prepared tomato paste and salt to taste to this spice mixture. Cover it and cook on a medium flame for six to seven minutes, until the masala starts releasing oil. Once the masala is well cooked, stir in the kitchen king masala, kasuri methi and a little garam masala. Then add some water as needed for the gravy, along with one tablespoon of homemade milk malai or fresh cream, and mix everything well.
The Final Step, Bringing It All Together
Now add the previously roasted bottle gourd into this rich gravy. If the gravy feels a little thick, add a little more water as required. Cover the pan and let it cook on a very low flame for five to six minutes, so that the bottle gourd becomes fully tender and the flavour of all the spices seeps right into it.
Your hot, restaurant style spicy bottle gourd curry is ready. Switch off the gas, sprinkle finely chopped coriander on top, and serve it with roti, paratha or boiled rice. Trust us, even the children will keep asking for more.
