260.paneer lauki kofta curry

rich and creamy

A few days ago my sister in law Rakshabhabhi sent a few pieces of the granola bars she tried out and a very tender and fresh bottle gourd. The granola bars were yummy and tasted different from mine as she had added dried apricots and dried dates (khajur) to the mixture. As for the bottle gourd, doodhi or lauki, it probably landed up at my house for a specific reason. The reason was a kofta curry. twice I had bought doodhi or lauki from the market and twice it was a bit seedy so it was used up in dangellas and theplas. This time, the lauki was really nice with no seeds and very tender. So today, I gathered rest of the ingredients and made a very delicious, rich and creamy kofta curry for lunch. Rich and creamy it was as Ajay has just informed me that he doesn’t need any dinner, only fruits. An ideal dish to make when you have guests around and you need to make a vegetable with gravy. Kids will love this curry as they will never guess that its made from lauki.
Updated:
Today I made the kofta curry but instead of deep frying the kofta I made them in the paniyaram pan. Its so much better than frying them. After putting the rolled balls in the pan with just a drop of oil, I covered the pan and let them cook over low heat. When done, turn them over carefully to cook the other side. I let them become a bot more crunchier so that when I add them to the gravy it doesn’t get really soft.
The curry in the plate is with fried koftas and the one in the bowl is the with the koftas cooked in the paniyaram. Can you notice any difference?
The taste was the same.

PANEER LAUKI KOFTA CURRY
Serves 4 to 6

For the koftas:
2 cups packed shredded doodhi (lauki, bottle gourd)
2 cups grated paneer (approx 250g)
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp green chilli paste or 1 or 2 chillis finely chopped
3 tbsp chickpea flour (chana or besan flour)
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp dhana jiru ( coriander cumin powder)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
½ to 1 tsp red chilli powder
¼ tsp clove powder
½ tsp cinnamon powder
½ tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1 tbsp lemon juice
a pinch of asafoetida (hing)
oil for deep frying

For the gravy:
1½ cups tomato puree
¾ to 1 cup water
½ cup cashew nuts
2 cups finely chopped onion
2 tbsps garlic paste
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp green chilli paste
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1 tbsp dhana jiru (coriander cumin powder)
1 tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp clove powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder
½ tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1 tsp star anise powder
½ tsp cardamom powder
a pinch of asafoetida (hing)
1 tsp salt
½ cup fresh cream
¼ cup fresh chopped coriander

Preparation of the koftas:

1. Squeeze out the water from the shredded lauki. Save the water.
2. Add rest of the ingredients of the kofta to the lauki (except the oil for deep frying).
3. Mix well. Take a tablespoon of the mixture and roll it out into a ball. Do the same with the remaining mixture.You will get about 30 to 32 balls.
4. Heat oil in a deep frying pan, wok or karai over medium heat. Put a tiny bit of the lauki mixture into the oil. If it comes up immediately, the oil is ready.
5. Fry the balls, 8 to 10 at a time. Keep turning them in the oil so that they brown evenly.
6. When they are golden brown in colour, remove with a slotted spoon and keep them in a colander till required.

You may want to check out the following:

corn curry

pea kofta curry

turia with cashew nut gravy