Lauki Ke Kofte - Bottle Gourd Dumplings in Gravy

My mother excelled at making lauki koftas- they would melt in your mouth with just the right amount of softness and have the structure not to disintegrate in the gravy. I once ate a version, at the home of a fanatic health freak, where the dumplings were not deep fried but just boiled in the gravy. My verdict- distinctly unpleasant. The kofta needs structure and the toughness to withstand the gravy, and also the melt in your mouth softness at the same time. The least you can do is shallow fry it and if you are a fanatic health freak, instead of butchering a beautiful dish, eat raw tofu.Lauki is a popular vegetable in India, often disliked. As a kid I would wrinkle my nose in distaste when confronted with a bowl of plain lauki subzi. However the kofta is loved and relished and justifies the hard work that goes in creating it. If you can’t find lauki, try using zucchini, however a lot of Indian and Chinese stores carry this vegetable.

Coming to cooking, I think it is the medium where I have not only started to relieve my boredom but also feel closer to India and my mother. I have started relating to her and appreciating her more, while trying to recreate her flavors in my kitchen. I never learnt how to cook from her, as a kid she expected me to study all the time and not bother with the kitchen; justifiably so because after all you can easily afford a cook in India. And then she passed away. But what she gave me was a flavor reference, a touch stone to measure my progress against. I do not know how she cooked but I know how the dish should taste, and I try to get right there. When I made these kofta knew I was somewhere near that gold standard. The softness of the kofta, the tanginess of the gravy, she would have approved if she cared.

Cooking also helps me reconnect to the places I have left behind. After my mother’s kitchen it was eating out at the homes of my parent’s friends, who primarily came from different parts of Uttar Pradesh, and surprisingly each part, east or west, had its own distinct flavor profile. And then I ended up living in Lucknow, renowned for its Awadhi cuisine. The flavors of the north vary so much that I will write a separate blog post on that. And then I moved west to Pune, Gujarat, and Mumbai. All I can say is that, food brings back a whiff of the past, memories of people and places and food is a comforting reassurance that they might be very far away but they still exist.



For the dumplings
1/2 small bottle gourd grated- Lauki
4 tbspb besan
1 tspn salt
1 tspn coriander powder
1 tspn cumi powder

For the gravy
1/2 large onion finely diced
1 large tomato
1 tspn coriander powder
2 chillies
3 cloves garlic
1" piece garlic
1/2 tspn turmeric
2 bay leaves
1/2 tspn cumin seeds
salt to taste
2 tbspn yoghurt

for the dumplings
1. Wring the grated lauki of excess water .
2. Mix with all ingredients.
3. Shallow fry or deep fry 8 small balls

for gravy
1. Blend the tomatoe, chilly and garlic.
2. In a pan add the oil, cumin seeds and bay leaves. Wait till the seeds splutter.
3. Add the onions, fry till brown.
4. Add tomato paste. Fry till it sweats.
5. Add the spices.
6. Add the yoghurt. Saute for a minute.
7. Add some water.
8. When gravy is nearly done add dumplings.
9. Garnish with chopped coriander.