Bottle Gourd Kootu

Bottle Gourd belongs to the cucumber family and a very popular vegetable seen in Indian cooking. This vegetable has many medicinal values and has been used in various ayurvedic treatments for curing many health ailments. Bottle Gourd comprises 95% of water and is such a light and easy to digest vegetable. Its health benefits are numerous.

Health Benefits of Bottle Gourd:
 

1. High Fiber Content, which helps relieving constipation.

2.  Very low in calories and hence can be used in your weight-loss programs lavishly.

3.  Used in the treatment of blood pressure and heart diseases. Regularly drinking bottle gourd juice keeps your heart healthy.

4.  Used in the treatment of insomnia.

Use this water rich vegetable regularly in your diet. It can be prepared in various forms like curry, sabji, kootu etc. Here is the simple preparation of Bottle Gourd Kootu which goes well with both rice and chapathi.

English Name: Bottle Gourd/ Tamil Name : Soraikkai/ Telgu Name : Sorakaya/ Hindi Name : Lauki

Best Accompaniment for: Sambar / Rasam / Kozhambu / Chapathi

Ingredients:

 

Bottle Gourd – 1, Cut to cubes

Moong Dhal – ¾ Cup

Salt – 2 tsp

Seasoning : Oil – 1 tsp, mustard seeds – 1 tsp, urud dhal – 1 tsp, channa dhal – 1 tsp, curry leaves – 10, Hing – ¼ tsp

Boiled milk – ¼ tumbler (Optional)

Grind Together to a thick paste:

Coconut – ½ Cup

Cumin Seeds – ¾  tsp

G. Chillies – 2

Pre-Requisite:

1. Pressure cook Bottle gourd along with moong dhal, adding enough water, for 3 whistles and keep the cooked bottle gourd-dhal mixture ready.

2. Grind together the grinding ingredients and keep ready.

 Method:

 

1.  In a Kadai, add the seasoning ingredients and season.

2.  Add the cooked bottle gourd-dhal mixture & ground paste and required salt and mix well.

3. Keep on flame for 2 mins and just before removing add ¼ tumbler of boiled milk and mix well and keep for a min and then remove.

Note:

 

1. Adding boiled milk towards the end enhances the taste of the kootu. Once milk is added, the kootu shouldn’t be boiled for too long. Adding milk is however optional.