Bottle Gourd Curry, Lauki ( Sorakkai ) Curry

          Today it's another curry to go with rotis, another curry with bottle gourd, lauki or sorakkai. I have cooked the bottle gourd in a cashew and tomato paste along with other spices and flavored with kasuri methi. I have done the entire cooking in the pressure pan, a simple and delicious curry that goes very well with both rotis and rice dishes..

Need To Have

• Diced Bottle Gourd - 2 cups
• Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Coriander Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Kasuri Methi - 2 tablespoons, crushed
• Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Salt to taste

To Grind

• Tomato - 1 medium
• Onion - 1 small
• Cashews - 5
• Melon Seeds - 1/2 tablespoon

Method

          Grind together all the ingredients given under ' to grind ' into a smooth paste.

          Heat some oil, add the cumin seeds, when it starts sizzling, add the paste along with the turmeric, chilly and coriander powders and saute it well for 5 to 6 minutes till the raw smell of the paste goes away. If the paste sticks to the pan add a little water and keep sauteing.

          Then add the diced bottle gourd pieces and the crushed kasuri methi and salt and mix.

          Add about 1 to 11/2 cups of water, cover and pressure cook, after the first whistle, reduce the heat to low and cook for another 7 minutes. After all the pressure has been released, open the lid and simmer the curry on medium heat till the curry gets a thick gravy consistency, switch off and serve.

Note
If you want, you can also add a teaspoon of grated ginger and 2 or 3 cloves of garlic to the paste.
Add enough water while pressure cooking, we can always cook away the extra liquid after we open the pressure pan.

You can also check out these other curries with bottle gourd :

Bottle Gourd And Peas Milk Curry, Lauki Matar Malai, Sorakkai Pattani Paal Curry
Bottle Gourd And Spring Onions Curry, Sorakkai Vengaya Thaal Curry
Bottle Gourd Dal
Bottle Gourd In Peanut Sauce
Bottle Gourd, Sorakkai Sambar