Bottle gourd kofta curry (Sorakaya Kofta kura)

Maybe I am getting lazier, or maybe i am taking mom for granted, or both. Why else, as one who stays at home all day, everyday, would i ask mom to type in the recipe and send it to me by email, when i was right next to her when she made this for me on my last trip there. I have surely become lazier. And taking advantage of the fact that moms are always trying to be there for their daughters, even when the said daughter has quit her job after a mere five years in the corporate world. And  then when the said mom is having a one week leave from her day job (one that she has kept at for almost thirty years), she is asked to kindly type in the recipe because her daughter is too lazy. OK, i hope you get the point that i am very guilty right now. But can i be forgiven, please? I am not saying i deserve it, I am simply asking you to be magnanimous. Its the season for that too, right? Pretty please?

Well then now that i am forgiven, i can tell you how delicious bottle gourd can taste. If cooked the right way, that is. And by right, i mean adding enough richness in the form of cashew and enough aromatics in the form of ginger, garlic and garam masala. And a bunch of fresh coriander never let any dish down. Would you believe that for very many years as a kid i would refuse to touch bottle gourd curry? Until it came in this form, and since then i have never said no, even to second helpings. On the contrary, i usually start munching on the kofta balls even before they can get into the curry. Yes, they can be snacked on. So without anymore delay, here is mom's recipe for bottle gourd kofta curry, in her own words.

Ingredients:

For Kofta balls
Bottle gourd  1/4 kg

Bengal gram flour/corn flour  50 grams

Salt, red chili powder and garam masala to taste

Oil 50 grams (about 5 tablespoons)

For the gravy

Mustard and cumin seeds; 1/4 teaspoon each

Bay leaves 2 (optional)
Curry leaves 2 sprigs

Onions 2 medium sized, finely chopped

Ginger garlic paste 1 teaspoon
Turmeric 1 pinch

Tomatoes 2, chopped

Green chilies 4, sliced

Cashew paste 2 tablespoons
Salt according to taste
Red chili powder 1 teaspoon

Soya Chunks, soaked in warm water for an hour (optional)

Garam masala powder 1 teaspoon
Coriander leaves small bunch, for garnishing

Method

Peel the bottle gourd and remove watery white membrane along with seeds. Of course this part can be used for preparation of special bottle gourd dosa. (See tips at the end). For now, grate the bottle gourd. Using your palms squeeze out excess water from it. To this bottle gourd pulp, add gram flour, salt, chili powder and a pinch of garam masala and make small balls /koftas. Now heat oil in a kadai or wok and deep fry the balls until golden brown and keep aside. In the remaining oil (about 2 tbsp), in a large pan on medium heat, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, bay leaves and curry leaves. Add the onion and fry till soft. Add turmeric, ginger garlic paste and fry for a while. Then add salt, tomato, green chilies, red chili powder, cashew paste, 200 ml water and boil the ingredients for about 10 minutes on medium-low heat to prepare gravy. Then add fried koftas (and soya chunks with water squeezed out) to the gravy and cook for another five minutes to make the gravy thick. Add garam masala powder to enhance taste and chopped coriander leaves for flavour. Now the dish is ready to taste. It  is definitely very good combination not only for rice and rotis  but also with pulaos. One can't tell that it is made of bottle gourd. Really.

Mom's tips:

Use the white membrane and seeds from the bottle gourd core when making dosa batter, reducing the quantity of water required to grind the soaked rice and black gram. Makes delicious dosas.