Getting children to eat vegetables can be a losing battle, and bottle gourd, or lauki, is often the first one to get rejected at the dinner table. Say the word paneer, though, and the same kids light up. There is a clever way to turn that reluctance around: turn the lauki itself into paneer. Done right, nobody at the table, adults included, will be able to tell they are eating a vegetable at all. This bottle gourd paneer holds its own against the dairy version in taste, and it has the added advantage of not leaving that heavy, bloated feeling afterward. Here is the full method, step by step.
Turn the lauki into a smooth paste
Start with one large bottle gourd that is completely raw and tender, its seeds should still be soft and undeveloped. Wash it, peel it, and cut it into pieces the way you would for a regular vegetable dish. Grind these pieces in a mixer without adding any water, bottle gourd already carries enough moisture of its own. Blend it until it turns into a completely smooth, lump-free paste.
Mix the batter and set the paneer
Empty the ground bottle gourd into a bowl and stir in 2 teaspoons of fresh, homemade curd. Add salt to taste along with just 1 pinch of baking soda. Slowly fold in half a cup of rice flour, mixing as you go. If rice flour is not available, a mix of half all purpose flour and half rice flour works just as well. Combine everything thoroughly until no lumps remain. Grease a plate lightly and pour in the batter, once cooked it turns white, and smooth the top with the back of a spoon before setting it aside.
Prepare the steaming setup
For the curry, roughly chop 2 medium onions, 2 tomatoes, green chillies and ginger. Pour half a glass of water into a kadhai and place a large bowl upside down inside it. Around the inverted bowl, add the chopped onion, tomato, green chillies, dry red chillies and ginger garlic. On top of that, add 5 whole black peppercorns and 1 piece of cinnamon.
Steam the paneer to perfection
Place the plate holding the bottle gourd batter on top of the inverted bowl. Cover the kadhai and let it cook on medium flame for about 15 minutes. Check with a finger midway through to see if the paneer is still sticking, if it is, let it cook a little longer. Once it has fully set, lift out the plate and separately remove the steamed vegetables as well.
Make the spiced gravy and finish the dish
Grind the steamed onion, tomato, green chillies, red chillies, garlic and ginger into a fine paste. Let the paneer cool down in the meantime, then cut it into cubes. To make the curry, heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a kadhai and temper it with cumin seeds and Kashmiri red chilli. Add the prepared onion tomato paste and cook, stirring, until the oil starts to separate. Once the masala is well roasted, add 1 tablespoon of coriander powder, half a teaspoon of turmeric, salt to taste and a little more Kashmiri red chilli.
Finally, stir in 2 teaspoons of fresh thick curd, stirring continuously so it does not split. When the masala releases oil again, add water depending on how thick or thin you want the gravy, using the same water the onions and tomatoes were steamed in works best. Let the gravy simmer well, then add the cubed bottle gourd paneer. Sprinkle a little garam masala on top, garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot.
