Lauki Kofta Ki Dahivali Curry/Fried Bottlegroud Dumplings In Yougurt Sauce

Bottle gourd in India is known by many names; people call it lauki, doodhi, ghiya-and It is a very nutritious vegetable. I love pretty much any kofta-based recipe and lauki kofta has been on my mind for ages now.Last year when I went to mom-in-law's place she taught me how to make this curry. So here comes my thanks to her. Enjoy with rice, roti or parthas.

Ingredients :

Grated Lauki/Bottleguord  – 1 cup

Besan/Gram flour/Chickpea flour – couple of spoons to bind the koftas

Yoghurt/Curd/Dahi -1.5 cups

Cashew nut powder/Kaju ka powder – 2 tsp

Onion – 1 medium finely chopped

Green chillies – 2 chopped

Coriander/Dhaniya powder – 2 tbsp

Chilli powder -1 tsp

Salt to taste

Turmeric/Haldi powder – a pinch

Coriander leaves for garnishing

Oil for deep frying

Method

1. Mix the grated luaki with little salt and keep it aside for 5 mins. Now sqeeze out as much water as you can out of the lauki and mix it with little besan and chilli powder. The quantity of besan should be just enough to bind the koftas and to absorb the little moisture it has.
2. Now heat oil in a kadai and deep fry the koftas to golden brown. Keep aside the koftas in a tissue or kitchen towel to drain the excess oil
3. Now to make the gravy add a spoonful of oil in a skillet and splutter the mustard and cumin seeds. Then add green chillies and onions with little salt.
4. Once the onion gets cooked, whisk up the yoghurt nicely with coriander, turmeric and chilli powder and add it to the skillet. Keep stirring frequently so that the yoghurt does not fall apart. Let it simmer for around 5 minutes
5. Now add the powdered cashews and then bring it to a boil and switch it off. The cashew powder just thickens sauce a bit.
6. Put all the fried koftas in the gravy and mix.

Eat piping hot with bread or rice.