Collection of bottle gourd recipes.
About Bottle Gourd
Bottle gourd is a vegetable that is used in a variety of Indian cooking. It is also known as long melon, white-flowered gourd, New Guinea bean, or calabash. In India, it is popularly called lauki, ghiya or doodhi in Hindi, sorekayi in Kannada, lau in Bengali, and surakkai in Tamil. We grow this amazing vegetable in our veggie patch during summer. It is regarded as one of the healthiest vegetables in India. The peel and the leaves of this wonderful vegetable can also be used in cooking, which again is considered very healthy.
Whether you want to use the bottle gourd to make curries/dessert or use the peel of this vegetable to make chutney, here are some creative ways of using this delicious vegetable. You can find some forgotten traditional recipes too.
Benefits of bottle gourd
Bottle gourd is regarded as one of the healthiest vegetables in India. It has multiple health benefits, including high dietary fiber, rich in iron, and vitamin B and C. They are known to help with digestion and sleeping disorder. The juice of bottle gourd is known to promote weight loss and stabilise blood sugar levels.
How to select bottle gourd
Select bottle gourd that is fresh and tender. The skin should be pale green without any spots or blemish. It should be firm and should not have a soft flesh. Fresh bottle gourd will have its dried flower still attached at the tip. When you cut the bottle gourd, if there are any seeds, discard them. The seeds of the bottle gourd are edible and are tender if the bottle gourd is tender. As the bottle gourd matures, the seeds become hard and lose their taste.
My recipe collection
Here is a collection of my recipes featuring bottle gourd as the main ingredient.
Bottle Gourd Dal: This humble Bengali dal is so full of flavours and easy to make. Made with split green gram or moong dal, this dish is absolute comfort food. Bottle gourd is known for its cooling effect and this dish is cooked in every household during summer.
Bottle Gourd Curry: Lau ghonto is a vegetarian Bengali side dish that is made with no onion and no garlic. Simple and very easy to make, this can make a great side dish for a quick weekday meal.
Sourdough Lauki Paratha: Lauki paratha is a variety of Indian flatbread made with bottle gourd and whole wheat flour (atta). Traditionally, these parathas are made by combining grated bottle gourd with atta and spices. But here is an interesting twist I give to it - make the sourdough version of lauki paratha.
Lauki Chana Dal Sabzi: Lauki chana dal sabzi is a vegan curry made with bottle gourd and chana dal (split Bengal gram). This simple and healthy vegan home-style curry tastes great as a side dish and can also be eaten on its own as a low-carb meal. This curry is perfect for weekday meals and lunchboxes.
Lauki Halwa: Lauki halwa or dudhi halwa is a rich, creamy dessert made with lauki or bottle gourd. Grated bottle gourd is reduced with milk, then sugar and ghee are added and it is finished off with nuts.
Bottle Gourd Peel Chutney: The peel of bottle gourd is a powerhouse of nutrients and can be converted into a delicious chutney that tastes very good with idli or dosa. This chutney is very easy to make and will be ready in no time.
Bottle gourd leaves stir-fry: Bottle gourd leaves stir-fry or lau pata chorchori is an easy and healthy dish made with tender stalk and leaves of bottle gourd. This Bengali dish is very easy to make and is ready in less than 20 minutes. It goes very well with plain steamed rice.
Majjige Huli: Majjige means buttermilk in Kannada and this tangy mildly spicy curry is made with buttermilk or yogurt, coconut, and water-based vegetables. You may use bottle gourd, ash gourd, cucumber, etc. to make this. Here I am using bottle gourd.
For more ingredient-specific recipes, click here.
