Nothing is more refreshing on a hot summer day than lau ghonto, bottle gourd cooked in its own juices with peas and badis (badis are sun-dried lentil dumplings, very popular in traditional Bengali cuisine).
Passed down generations with almost every family having a little twist or variant of its own, this very simple earthy Bengali dish can be traced back centuries.
Here’s a version I have grown up with and hope you enjoy this as well.
Lau ghonto (Dry Bottle Gourd Curry)
Nothing is more refreshing on a hot summer day than lau ghonto, bottle gourd cooked in its own juices with peas and badis.
Ingredients
- 500 g bottle gourd / lauki / (or lau)
- 1/2 cup fresh peas
- 10 - 15 fried badi (dried lentil dumplings)
- 1 tsp paanch phoron (paanch phoron is a mixture, equal parts of cumin seeds, black mustard seeds, fennel seeds (saunf),fenugreek seeds (methi) and nigella seeds(kalaunji). You can prepare the mixture and keep in an air-tight container for months)
- 1-2 dry red chillies
- 3 - 4 green chillies slit
- 1/2 cup coriander leaves roughly chopped
- 2.5 tbsp mustard oil
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 2 tsp sugar
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Peel and wash the bottle guard, cut into thin round slices and shred them lengthwise. Keep aside.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil, fry badis till golden. Keep aside.
- Heat the remaining oil, add the paanch phoron and dry red chilies. When the spices start spluttering, add the chopped bottle guard. Sprinkle a little salt and sugar. Turn the heat to low and let the gourd cook in its own juices.
- When the gourd starts turning tender, add the peas and green chillies. Keep cooking till the water has almost dried up.
- Add sugar and salt to taste. Add the fried badis and cook for another 2-3mins.
- Add the chopped coriander leaves and finish with the ghee. Serve with rice.
good