IT'S POURING GOURDS!! :D

Hope you all had wonderful Onam, Raksha Bandhan and Devi Pooja celebrations my friends! Enjoy..err..digest the festival food!:D
It's not raining but pouring Gourd dishes this week! Whoever said "Are we expecting the Gourd dishes here then?!" when you saw the 6 gourds jokingly last week, it's all YOUR fault. Blame yourself for encouraging me!! Hahaha!
I do LOVE cooking with fresh tender Gourds and all these dishes are my favorites. I am too happy to share with you. Choose what you like and enjoy while I get my spanking new eye sight!:D
A request: One of my Kannadiga reader, a mother-to-be, Jyoti V from Australia made Benne Biscuits I posted last week and loved them.She is asking if anyone know the recipes for B'lore bakery style Honey Cake and Kobbari(dry coconut)Biscuits(craving is a good word here!) Let's help her out and please let me know if any of you know these recipes.Thanks!:)

Bidding Adieu!!

Saying "Goodbye" to my oldest companion ie Myopia tomorrow!! I am going under the Lasik Wavefront surgery at 8am on the 30th,Thursday and will be in LALA land(sleeping ie!:D) for 24+hrs after that!:)



Thanks to all of you in advance for your comments and wishes from tomorrow,I will check on you later this weekend. I don't think it will be that painful because I saw women who had Lasik surgery the day before, sitting there next day for 24hr follow up reading magazines without any stress!! So I will take Thursday and Friday off ,then back to normal blogging.
This will not affect in any way with RCI K event,keep sending them to my e mail, so I can check on them ASAP.Some of you asked whether it's okay to send more than entry. YES,send as many dishes as you can with the photos because this is probably the ONLY chance to showcase Karnataka state's cuisine in blogosphere!:)

From babyhood to all grown up, my beloved Gourds!
I plant three seeds of Birdhouse gourd as they say here in US around May in a huge pot with good soil,carved with large holes in the bottom so the roots gets into the ground in time and then I will keep just one little sapling to grow.It climbs onto the deck later on and spreads luxuriously.Since it has stopped flowering,we pulled the gourd plant out and cleaned up the deck yesterday, no more Gourds for me!;p


Avial, with Bottle gourd,Green beans in spicy coconut gravy:
My own little contribution to Kerala Sadya feast for Onam! I always loved this simple but delicious dish, one of my favorite of all the Kerala delicacies!


How to make it:

1. Cook peeled, chopped 3 cups of Gourd, and 2 cups of chopped Green beans in 2 cups of water until soft.
2. Grind 1/4 cup fresh coconut, 1 tbsp cumin seeds, 2-3 green chillies and 2 tsp raw rice(uncooked) to a fine paste with little water, not too much.Keep aside.
3. Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan, add few curry leaves, 1/2 tsp Mustard (optional).Add cooked veggies,salt and boil. Lower the heat, add 1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream,and ground coconut and simmer for 5 mins until the you get a good aroma.
4. Serve with rice or chapatis or Dosas.YUM!



Sorekai Pachadi:
This cooked gourd raita is so tasty with flavorful spices and other vegs, it's good enough to eat on it's own or with any Roti and also very refreshing to have with plain cooked rice!

1. Microwave 1 cup peeled,chopped Gourd with water,drain and cool.
2. Finely cube 1/4 cup each of baby Carrots, red onion, cucumber, Zucchini,1 tomato, red and green sweet bell pepper,salt,1 finely chopped green chilli, 2 tbsp Cilantro, 1/2 tbsp mint leaves and mix.
3. Add 1/4 cup yogurt, 1/2 tsp cumin powder, 1/4 tsp each of Chaat masala,1/8 tsp of garam masala and cooked gourd pieces.Mix them all gently.
4. Chill for 1/2 an hour and serve.

Creamy Lauki Kofta Curry:
Koftas are Veg or Meat balls,fried and served with creamy gravy. I have made my own Kaddu(with Butternut squash) Kofta before. I tried Lauki/bottle gourd this time with gravy recipe based on a cookbook "Dadima Ki Rasoi" by Aruna Kirpal. It was delicious.Of course I had to make changes as I always do with Koftas since they can be little too watery to bind them to Koftas.

1. Fry 2 large onions until reddish,grind with 2 garlic,1" ginger, and 2-3 Plum tomatoes to make a smooth paste.
2. Heat the 2 tsp oil and 2 tsp butter in a pan, add the ground paste and fry until thick and oil shows on top. Stir in 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tbsp coriander powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1/4 tsp red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, salt and fry for a few more minutes. Pour in 3 cups of water and bring to the boil.
3. Add finely chopped 1 tbsp cilantro and 1/2 tbsp mint leaves. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the gravy thickens.
4. Turn down the heat to low and wait till it cools down a little. Beat 1/2 cup cream and pour in the gravy,stir gently until mixed.Simmer for 5 mins.
5. Tastes better the next day.Heat Koftas in the oven and add to gravy just before you serve along with drizzled cream on top either with rice or soft Naans.

To Make Lauki Koftas:

1. Mix 1 small Gourd (bottle gourd), peeled and chopped fine or 2 cups grated, salt,1/2 cup or more Potato flakes or mashed potatoes,enough to bind the Koftas in to balls, 1/4 cup besan (gram flour), 1 tbsp Cornstarch,1 tsp amchoor (dried raw mango) powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 1/2 tsp red chili powder, 1/2 tsp cumin powder,make tennis sized balls, deep fry until reddish.Drain and keep aside. (Baking doesn't work with Besan mixed Koftas but you can reheat the Koftas in the oven before serving to crisp them!)

Bottle Gourd Peel Chutney:
What do you do with all those peels when you clean up the Gourds? Make scrumptious chutney out of them!!:D Make sure gourd is young ,not mature. Peels must be soft without the stringy veins to make this chutney.Tastes wonderful with Dosas!


How to make it:

1. Collect all the tender peels, wash and cook them in the Microwave with little water for 5 mins,drain the water if there is too much or save for grinding chutney.
2. Add the peels to the blender along with 1/2 cup fresh coconut, 2 tbsp yellow roasted chutney gram(hurikadale),3 green chillies, salt, little lump of tamarind, 2tbsp yogurt,1 small garlic,1/2" ginger, 2 tbsp cilantro,few curry leaves with little water from cooked peels to a smooth thickish paste.
3. Heat 2 tsp oil, add 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp Urad dal, 1 red chilly, few curry leaves until reddish,add to the chutney.

Sorekai Bele Saaru:
Gourd with red gram dal gravy! My favorite sambar with my ajji's saaru powder cooked with Tuar dal and gourd, so yummy I could eat this in a soup bowl with toasted slices of bread unlike my ajji!!:D

Cook 1 cup Tuar dal with 1 sliced Onion,2 cups of water until soft in a pressure cooker.Add 3 cups of tender gourd cubes and boil for 5-10 mins until they are just soft, not mashed.Add 1 tbsp saaru powder,cilantro,2 tsp tamarind juice,1 tomato chopped,1/8 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp ghee and salt.Simmer for 5 mins, add seasoning and serve with rice and papad.
Seasoning: Heat 2tsp oil, add 2 chopped garlic, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds,few curry leaves,1/2 chopped onion, 1 red chilly, pinch of Hing.
Saaru powder: Toast 1tbsp Coriander seeds,1/2 tbsp Channa dal, 1/2 tbsp Tuar dal, 2-3 red chillies dried, 1/4 tsp Fenugreek seeds,a pinch of hing(asafoedia), 1 tsp raw rice until reddish,cool and poeder.Use as much as you need in the Sambhar.

Lauki-Coconut Halwa:
Finally, a dessert!!:)) I made a similar halwa I posted at Aroma for an event last week. But this Halwa is made with finely cubed Gourd instead of grated, even tastier than that dish with the additional fragrant spices, Raisins and coconut!

Refer to that recipe to follow with the same steps but with finely cubed gourd instead of grated, add an additional 1/8 tsp Clove pd, 1/4 tsp sweet Cinnamon pd, 1/4 cup sweetened coconut or plain grated dried or fresh coconut,2 tbsp golden raisins to the dish before Microwaving and cook until soft and thickish. Serve warm or cold!!
Well.. I will see you all this weekend in your blogs. I am sure I will be alright by then and can see without glasses! (hopefully,fingers crossed!:P) Keep cooking those delicious dishes for RCI,I will check my e mail and spam folder too. Next week I will post part 1 of my own mom's and grandmothers'(read Lingayat=pure vegetarian!) K'taka dishes, my part 2 will have non-veg dishes. Have a great weekend!:))