lauki kofta

Lauki kofta is a delicious Indian curry made with bottle gourd dumplings (kofta) simmered in a spicy onion tomato based curry. Here is how to make it.

Lauki Kofta Recipe

Lauki

Salt

tbsp Besan

tsp Red Chilli Powder

tsp Garam Masala Powder

Oil (as required, for frying)

tbsp Mustard Oil

tsp Cumin Seeds

tsp Ginger (finely chopped)

tsp Garlic (finely chopped)

tsp Green Chillies (finely chopped)

Onion (finely chopped)

Tomatoes (finely chopped)

tsp Coriander Powder

tsp Turmeric Powder

tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder

tbsp Fresh Coriander (finely chopped)

Start by preparing the lauki. Wash the lauki and peel it using a vegetable peeler. Cut the lauki into half vertically. Remove the large seeds and then grate it using the medium hole of a box grater. Measure 750 grams of grated lauki.

Note – Just taste the lauki before using it, because sometimes it might be bitter, which will ruin the taste of the sabzi.

Add the grated lauki in a medium size mixing bowl and add 2 tsp salt to it. Mix well using your fingers.

Keep the bowl aside for 10 minutes. Adding salt in lauki will make it release its water. Squeeze the lauki in between your palms to remove the water form it. Do not discard this water. We will use it later while making the gravy.

Add the squeezed lauki in another medium size mixing bowl.

Add 4 tbsp besan, 1 tsp red chili powder and ½ tsp garam masala powder to the bowl and mix well.

Make small lime size balls from the mixture.

Heat vegetable oil for frying the kofta in a pan.

Fry the balls on medium high heat until golden brown.

For the Kofta:

Heat 4 tbsp mustard oil in a pan.

Once the oil is hot, add 1 tsp cumin seeds and let them crackle for 3-4 seconds.

Add 2 tsp finely chopped ginger, 2 tsp finely chopped garlic and 2 tsp finely chopped green chili and fry on medium heat for a minute.

Add 1 cup chopped onion and fry until they are nicely browned (8-10 minutes).

Now add 1 cup chopped tomato and fry for 2-3 minutes.

Add 2 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp turmeric powder, 2 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder and ½ tsp garam masala powder and fry for 2-3 minutes.

Add the water squeezed from lauki to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Now add 2 cups of water and bring the curry to a boil. Add the kofta and cook for minute.

Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot.

For the Gravy:

Lauki ke Kofte is a delicious, light tomato-based gravy with koftas made of bottle gourd. This squash variety is also called calabash, opo squash or long melon in English and lauki, dudhi or ghia in a few Indian languages.

Lauki Kofta | Lauki ke Kofte

flour

¼ teaspoon Garam Masala

red chili powder (or cayenne pepper)

green chili (- finely chopped or 1 green chili)

salt (as required)

oil (as required, for deep or shallow frying the kofta)

tomatoes (- large-sized, roughly chopped)

onion, (- medium-sized, roughly chopped)

ginger (- chopped or 1 inch peeled ginger)

garlic cloves, (- small to medium-sized, roughly chopped)

cashews (- broken

cumin seeds

¼ red chili powder (or cayenne pepper)

turmeric powder ((ground turmeric))

coriander powder ((ground coriander))

¼ Garam Masala

water (or add as required)

sugar (or add as required, optional)

Rinse and peel the lauki (bottle gourd). Grate it. Measure and you should get 2 cups of grated lauki.Make sure to taste the bottle gourd before you peel and grate. It should not be bitter. If the lauki tastes bitter, trash it.

Squeeze the grated lauki and collect the juice in a bowl or mug. Keep the juice aside.

Mix all the ingredients, except oil, for making the koftas with the grated lauki.

Make small round shaped balls or patties.&nbsp;

Heat oil in a kadai or frying pan. Fry the lauki koftas in oil, till they are evenly golden browned from all sides.

Drain the fried kofta on paper towels so that the extra oil is absorbed.

Making lauki kofta

Blend all the ingredients mentioned under &#39;for making masala paste&#39; without water to a smooth and fine paste.

If needed add a bit of water, but don&#39;t add too much water as then the masala paste splutters while frying.

Making masala paste

Remove extra oil from the frying pan in which the koftas were fried. Keep about 2 tablespoons oil. Or you could opt to use 2 tablespoons of fresh oil.

Heat the oil and fry the cumin seeds first on low heat until they splutter. Then, add the ground masala paste.

Sauté for 8 to 10 minutes on medium-low heat stirring often. Then add all the ground spice powders.

Stir and continue to sauté the masala paste till it starts leaving oil from the sides. The masala will also thicken and look glossy.

Add the lauki juice and about 1 cup water or as needed to the sautéed masala paste. 

Stir and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes or until the curry thickens a bit. Lastly, add the fried koftas.

Switch off the heat and let the koftas be in the gravy for a few minutes.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve Lauki Kofta hot with roti, naan or jeera rice.

Making lauki kofta gravy

Koftas made with lauki (bottle gourd) are dunked in an onion-tomato curry in this vegan Lauki Kofta Curry. Serve with rice or bread for a comforting meal.

Lauki Kofta

salt (divided)

besan (gram flour, around 45 grams)

rice flour (20 grams)

ginger

green chili (finely chopped, adjust to taste)

garam masala

red onion (roughly sliced)

ginger-garlic paste

tomatoes (roughly sliced)

green chili (roughly chopped,

coriander powder

turmeric

red chili powder (or double for spicier curry)

water

kasuri methi (crushed)

cilantro (to garnish)

Peel and grate a medium sized lauki (bottle gourd). You would have around 1 &amp; 1/2 cups to 2 cups grated lauki. Add it to a large bowl and then add 1/4 teaspoon salt to it. Let it sit for 15 mins.

Then transfer the lauki to a muslin cloth, and squeeze as much water as possible from the lauki and transfer it to another bowl.

To that now, add besan, rice flour, chopped green chili, grated ginger and garam masala. Mix everything together using your hands.

Add little water as needed and bring it all together. This mixture will be loose and that&#39;s what you want. Divide mixture into 7 to 8 parts. The consistency will be like of onion pakora. We need this consistency so that it cooks well in the air fryer (especially from the inside).

Preheat your air fryer according to manufacturer&#39;s instructions. Arrange the koftas into the air fryer. Spray with oil and air fry at 350 F for around 20 minutes. Every air fryer is different so you may need 2 minutes less or 2 minutes more. Shake once at the halfway mark. The koftas are now done, set them aside. Let&#39;s make the curry now.

Make the kofta

To a pan on medium heat, add 2 tsp oil. Once it&#39;s hot add sliced onion and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until soft and translucent. Then add ginger-garlic paste, sliced tomatoes and chopped green chili.Add 1/4 teaspoon salt for the tomatoes to cook faster.

Cover and cook for around 4 to 5 minutes until the tomatoes soften, there&#39;s no need to cook them completely, just need to soften them a bit.  Remove the pan from heat and let it cool down a bit. Then transfer to a blender and blend to paste. Set this aside.

Heat a pan on medium heat. Once hot, add 1 tablespoon of oil to it, then add cumin seeds and let them sizzle.

Add the prepared onion-tomato paste to it and stir. Followed by adding the spices: coriander powder, turmeric, red chili powder. Cook the spices for 1 minute.

Continue to cook the masala for 5 to 6 minutes until you see oil leaving from the sides. The color of the masala will also change at this point.

At this point add 2 cups water, some garam masala, kasuri methi and salt to taste. Stir and let this come to a gentle boil. Add the prepared koftas and simmer the curry for 2 to 3 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.

Make the curry

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Lauki Kofta Recipe

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Top 3 lauki kofta recipes from across the web

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Lauki Kofta Recipe

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Lauki Kofta

The most viewed lauki kofta recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine