Late anniversary celebrations ringed in today with Lauki Koftas. These Koftas are packed with flavor from fresh and ground spices, deep fried and dunked into a tomato curry with nuttiness of gram flour, it makes a very easy and delightful curry on the table.
The kofta curry is usually served with piping hot variety of Indian breads or steaming hot rice. You can make koftas with any stuffing you like. For this recipe, I am using bottle gourd and potato as the base. Other varieties of these dumplings include Paneer, Khoya (Mawa), Chicken, Zucchini, Yams and even Pumpkin.
Is this Curry Vegan?
This curry is 100% Vegan. You can top it with some coconut cream as I have done for the garnish. Typically we use fresh whole milk cream.
Is this Curry Gluten Free?
Yes it is. This recipe calls for gram flour, which is gluten free, including all other ingredients we will be using.
Tips on how to make Lauki Kofta?
- Boil the potato in the microwave without using water. 3 mins on either side. This will ensure that your potato is boiled and does not have any water.
- Use a shredder to shred the bottle gourd. I would highly recommend to do this step manually and not in the food processor.
- Tightly squeeze out the access water from bottle gourd and save it for later use in the curry. Keep the squeezed bottle gourd separately.
- Spice your Koftas well. The oozing flavor of koftas in the curry will enhance the flavor of your kofta curry on another level
- We use gram flour as the binding agent for the koftas. Add little at a time and as required, to make sure your koftas are still flavored with potatoes and bottle gourd instead of gram flour.
- Heat the oil to fry them on medium high flame and fry the koftas on a medium flame for their beautiful golden orange color from outside and make sure they have cooked well from inside.
How to make Lauki Kofta Step by Step
Step 1 - Microwave one large Potato in Microwave for 3 Minutes on either side. Keep it aside to cool. Shred the bottle gourd, remove access water by tightly pressing it. Next peel the potato mash and add it to the bowl. Also add the bottle gourd. Keep the access water aside for later use. And add the spices.
Step 2 - Add Besan and salt. Mix it well. The salt will help to release more water from the bottle gourd so don't use any water to bind everything together. The mixture should have a tight consistency to make Kofta balls.
Step 3 - Heat the oil on a medium high flame. Once hot fry the koftas on medium flame until orangish golden on the outside. Frying on medium heat will ensure that they are cooked thoroughly on the inside. Keep them side on a Kitchen towel lined plate.
There you have your gorgeous koftas ready!!
Equipment
- Heavy Botttom Pot
Ingredients
For Lauki Kofta
- 1 Large Potato Boil it in Microwave safe bowl lined with a paper towel for 3 minutes on either side. Poke a fork to check if the potato is cooked.
- 1 Medium Bottle Gourd It should give about 1 Cup Tighly Packed Shredded Bottle Gourd
- 1 Tsp Red Chili Powder
- 1/2 Tsp Dhana Jeeru Powder Cumin-Coriander Powder
- 1/4 Tsp Turmeric
- 1/2 Tsp Garam Masala
- 1/2 Tsp Ajwain Carom Seeds
- 1/2 Tsp Lightly Crushed Cumin
- 1/2 Tsp Lightly Crushed Fennel Seeds
- 1 Tbsp Ginger Garlic Green Chili Paste
- 2 Tbsp Besan Add 1 Tbsp at a time
- 1 Tsp Salt
For the Tomato Curry
- 1 Tbsp Besan
- 2 -3 Tbsp Oil
- 2 Green Cardamom Pods
- 1 Tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1 Tsp Fennel Seeds
- 1/4 Tsp Turmeric
- 2 Tsp Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
- 1 Small Onion Make Onion Tomato Puree
- 2 Large Roma Tomatoes Make Onion Tomato Puree
- 1 Tbsp Ginger Garlic and Green Chili Paste
- 1 Tsp Dhana Jeeru Cumin Coriander Powder
- 1+ 1/2 Tsp Garam Masala Use it in two parts
- 1-2 Cups Water
- 1 Tbsp Crushed Kasuri Methi
- 1 Tbsp Finely Chopped Cilantro For Garnish
- 1 Tsp Fresh or Coconut cream For Garnish
Instructions
For Lauki Kofta
- Microwave one large Potato in Microwave for 3 Minutes on either side. Keep it aside to cool. Shred the bottle gourd, remove access water by tightly pressing it. Next peel the potato mash and add it to the bowl. Also add the bottle gourd. Keep the access water aside for later use. And add the spices.
- Add Besan and salt. Mix it well. The salt will help to release more water from the bottle gourd so don't use any water to bind everything together. The mixture should have a tight consistency to make Kofta balls.
- Heat the oil on a medium high flame. Once hot fry the koftas on medium flame until orangish golden on the outside. Frying on medium heat will ensure that they are cooked thoroughly on the inside. Keep them side on a Kitchen towel lined plate.
For Tomato Curry
- Pulse Onion and Tomatoes together in a puree without adding water and keep it aside.
- Take a heavy bottom pot. Roast the besan until nutty flavor comes and keep it aside in a separate plate.
- Now in the same pot add oil. Once hot add cardamom pods, cumin and fennel seeds. Let them splutter.
- Add red chili powder and turmeric, give it a quick mix and add onion tomato puree along with ginger garlic and green chili paste. Sauté it.
- Next add in Dhana Jeeru (Cumin Coriander Powder) and 1 Tsp Garam Masala. Mix it well. Let it cook until oil separates. Keep mixing it every now and then to make sure the curry doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Now sift the besan and add. quickly give it a mix. This will give a nutty flavor to the curry and will also act as a thickening agent.
- Add 1 + 1/2 Cups Water and salt. Mix it. Bring it to a simmer. You will see the curry is thickening up.
- You want to keep curry little runny as Koftas will suck all the water from the curry.
- After bringing it to a boil, finally add Koftas, add kasuri methi and remaining 1/2 Tsp garam masala. Cover and bring it to a simmer.
- Garnish with fresh or Coconut cream and fresh cilantro
- Serve hot with any Indian Bread of your choice
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