Lauki Kofta Curry Recipe – Doodhi Kofta Curry – Lauki Ke Kofte – लौकी के कोफ्ते

March 5, 2019 0 By Iqbal Kaur
Lauki ke kofte
Lauki Kofta Curry

Lauki (bottle gourd) also known as doodhi or dudhi in Gujarat (India) is not a popular and liked vegetable in every house but it is a very nutritious and low calorie vegetable. Most of the people find it tasteless and boring, but those who do not like to eat it; will definitely like Lauki Kofta.

Lauki Kofta (लौकी के कोफ्ते) is very delicious curry recipe in which deep-fried koftas (dumplings) made of grated doodhi are cooked in spicy thick gravy. Please follow the step by step recipe to make delicious Lauki kofta curry at home: –


Preparation Time: 20-25 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 3-4
Cuisine: Indian-North Indian
Category: Main Course


Ingredients

For the Koftas

  • 1 medium sized Lauki/Doodhi/Bottle Gourd – grated
  • ½ cup Besan/Gram Flour
  • ½ teaspoon Red Chilli powder
  • Pinch of Turmeric (Haldi)
  • ½ teaspoon Ajwain
  • 1 Green Chilli – finely chopped
  • Pinch of Asafoetida
  • 2 clove of Garlic – chopped
  • Small piece of Ginger – chopped
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil for frying

For the Curry/Gravy

  • 2 medium sized Onion – chopped
  • 3 medicum sized Tomatoes – finely chopped or pureed
  • 1 Green Chilli
  • 1 teaspoon of Ginger-Garlic paste
  • 1 teaspoon Jeera (cumin seeds)
  • ½ teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
  • ¼ teasoon Haldi (Turmeric)
  • 1 teaspoon Dhaniya Powder (Coriander Powder)
  • ½ teaspoon Garam Masala
  • Pinch of Asafoetida (Hing)
  • ½ teaspoon Kasuri Methi – Crushed
  • 2 tablespoon of Besan/Gram Flour
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tablespoon Vegetable Oil for cooking


Instructions

For the Koftas

  1. Peel, wash and grate the Lauki. Squeeze out the water and keep it aside.
  2. Add squeezed grated lauki in a large bowl, add gram flour, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, chopped ginger-garlic, finely chopped green chilli, asafoetida, ajwain and salt. Mix all ingredients well and mixture should have a thick consistency to make the koftas. If it is watery then add 1-2 teaspoons gram flour and mix.
  3. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium flame for deep frying. Grease your palms with oil and divide mixture into 10 to 12 portions or drop the mixture into the oil with the help of a tablespoon. When oil is medium hot, add 3-4 koftas at a time. Stir occasionally and deep-fry until they turn light golden brown and crisp. Take them out drain excess oil and place them over kitchen tissue or paper towel.  

For the Gravy/Curry

  1. Heat the 2 tablespoon Vegetable oil in saucepan over medium flame. Once the oil is hot, add asafoetida and jeera. Cook until jeera sizzle. Add Ginger-garlic paste and stir-fry for 35-45 seconds. Add chopped onions and stir-fry until it turns light brown in color.
  2. Add all the dry masala (except for Garam Masala and Kasuri Methi), mix and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add chopped or puree tomatoes, mix well and stir-fry for 5-7 minutes until oil separates.
  3. Add 2 tablespoon besan, mix and stir-fry for 30-40 seconds. Add Lauki water (kept aside at the time of making koftas) and ½ cup of water. Once the gravy starts boiling, turn the flame on low, cover the sauce pan with lid and let the gravy cook for 5-7 min. Stir in between occasionally.
  4. Add fried Koftas to the gravy, mix and cook for 2-3 min. Add Grama Masala and Kasuri Methi now and turn off the flame. Transfer it to a serving bowl and garnish with coriander leaves.

Enjoy the delicious Lauki kofta curry with Phulkas, Tandoori Roti, Paranthas, Naan, Rumali Roti, Plain Rice or Pulav.

Tips

  1. Do not keep koftas mixture idle for long time as lauki releases water over time and it will make mixture mushy and you will not be able to make kofta balls or it’ll not come in the kofta shape.
  2. Make sure that you deep fry koftas on medium flame. If you deep fry koftas on high flame then they will turn dark brown immediately but remain uncooked from inside.
  3. You can also shallow fry  koftas in non-stick pan or bake the koftas.