Name: Lauki Tamatar Ki Sabzi
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 250 g Bottle Gourd, lauki/ghiya, peeled and cut into medium cubes; 1 Tomato, finely chopped; ½ Green Chili Pepper, finely chopped; ¼ inch Ginger, grated; ½ tsp Cumin Seeds; ¼ tsp Ground Turmeric; ½ tsp Ground Coriander; ¼ tsp Red Chilli Powder; ⅛ tsp Garam Masala; ¾ tbsp Cooking Oil, or ghee; ½ tsp Salt, to taste; 1 tbsp Coriander Leaves, chopped

30 mintotal

25 min hands-on5 min hands-off

Prep 10 min · Cook 15 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Easy
Spice: Mild

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Method

Heat the cooking oil or ghee in a pressure cooker placed over a steady medium flame.
Drop in the cumin seeds, standing by while they crackle and infuse the hot fat.
Add the grated ginger and finely chopped green chilli and fry for 10 seconds to bring out their scent.
10 sec
Fold in the diced tomatoes with the turmeric, red chilli powder and coriander powder. Cook the base hard until the tomatoes break down into a soft paste.
Add the cubed bottle gourd to the pressure cooker and toss it well in the tomato masala, frying for 2 minutes so it takes on the flavour.
2 min
Season the mixture with salt. CRITICAL: Do not pour in any external water. The lauki will naturally surrender a massive volume of its own moisture to build the gravy.
Secure the pressure cooker lid firmly. Allow the dish to process for 2-3 whistles on medium heat.
Permit the pressure to dissipate naturally. Remove the lid to inspect the broth. If the extracted gravy appears excessively thin, simmer the open pot on high heat for several minutes to concentrate the liquid.
Dust the final preparation with garam masala and fold in the freshly chopped coriander. Mix with a gentle hand and serve.

How to tell it's done

Hyper-tender, almost dissolving cubes of gourd floating elegantly in a naturally sweet, mildly tangy, and highly fluid tomato-based broth.

Getting it right

Tip

Bottle gourd is mostly water. Cooking the sabzi in nothing but the vegetable's own juices keeps the flavour concentrated instead of diluting it.

What to serve it with

The definitive choice for an easily digestible, deeply comforting evening meal. Shines brightest alongside a stack of hot, ghee-smeared Phulkas.

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Ingredients