Nutritional Guard - Bottle Gourd or Lauki

Bottle gourd can result in finger licking dishes if experimented well. This particular recipe calls for bottle gourd as it adds an extremely soft texture to the dollop or balls dropped in the tingling gravy.

Chicken & Gourd Kofta

Ingredients

Bottle Guard: 500g - 600g
Chicken: 750g
Ginger: small piece
Garlic: 6-7 cloves
Green chilly: 2-3 deseeded
Onion: 1 big or 2 small sized
Coriander powder: 1 tsp
Fennel (Saunf) Powder: 1 tsp
Cumin (Jeera) Powder: 1tsp
Coriander & Mint: Handful
Corn flour powder: 2 tsp
Salt: according to taste

Gravy/Sauce

Onion- 4 midsized (finely chopped)
Tomato: 4 (finely chopped/ puree)
Garlic/Ginger paste: 1 tbsp
Chili Powder: 2 tbsp
Fennel Powder: 1 tbsp
Coriander Powder: 2 tbsp
Turmeric Powder: 1tsp
Cumin (Jeera) Powder: 2tbsp
Five Spice/Garam Masala: 1tsp
Sugar: one-fourth of a teaspoon
Hung curd: 2cups
Water: one and half cup
Milk: half cup
Oil: 3- 4 tbsp

Method

In a big wok or pan add oil and heat. Add onion and sauté till light brown and add sugar to caramelize. Add ginger garlic paste and mix for few seconds and add all the powders and fry at low heat to avoid burning. Add tomatoes and mix well and let fry till oil separates. Reduce the heat completely and add the milk constantly stirring to avoid curdling followed by curd. Mix well and let stay on low heat for a minute or two till it separates from the sides of the pan. Add water and let simmer till it boils.

Meanwhile, in a blender add all the ingredients for chicken and gourd ball and grind into a thick paste. Make balls or just scoop it with a spoon and drop in the gravy as it comes to a boil. Cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes and serve with rice or chapattis, garnished with coriander and mint leaves.

Note: Bottle guard leaves out lot of water. So prepare the mixture for the ball after you’ve done the gravy else the balls might break and not be perfect. It would be easier to scoop out with a spoon and drop as balls in the sauce.