Paleo Bottle Gourd Gravy
In the recent past, I am noticing the gaining popularity of the Paleo diet which intrigued me to research more about it. So what’s paleo diet?
What Is Paleo?
To put it in simple words, it’s the caveman diet or Palaeolithic diet or stone-age diet. This diet includes fruits, vegetables, nuts, oils and of course meat while it doesn’t include any processed foods and also grains, legumes etc. A diet without grains and legumes? Yes wiki puts it right; the diet is based on avoiding not just modern processed foods, but rather the foods that humans began eating after the Neolithic Revolution when humans transitioned from hunter-gatherer lifestyles to settled agriculture. Like any other diet, Paleo is also promoted as a way of improving health. Even though I am not following paleo life style or for that reason any particular diet, the constant promotions in social media and popularity of ancient grains aroused my curiosity. As usual Google helped me and luckily one of my school senior is following this life style and I got more information from her and also couple of vegetarian recipes. I would like to thank her at this time for sharing the information and this recipe too. Processed foods are not allowed in paleo diet also I understood that it is difficult to avoid the foods that came after Neolithic revolution especially for vegetarians as the protein source is minimal. But this paleo diet took me back to our ancestors concept of “Food as Medicine” or as we say in Tamil “Unave Marundu”. When you remove the processed foods and incorporate proper exercise, you don’t need any separate medicines. It is good to see that the wheel is turning back again.
Paleo Style Vegetarian
I see many people following this lifestyle and here is my small effort to share some paleo style vegetarian recipes. I am not going to claim these are 100% paleo ingredients, but I am open for suggestions, feedback and ready to learn the alternatives. Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments. Today’s recipe is a simple kootu/gravy prepared with bottle gourd without any lentils and legumes. I did use cumin seeds and also included salt. (Salt consumption, needs a separate post. I need to explain why most of recipes uses less than 2 tsps of salt too. :-) )
Bottle Gourd Gravy or Suraikai Kootu Recipe
Ingredients:
Suraikai | Bottlegourd – 1 medium sized or 5 cups of chopped bottle gourd Water – 3 tbsps + 2 tbsps Salt – ¾ to 1 tsp
For Tempering:
Coconut oil – 1 tsp Cumin Seeds – ½ tsp Curry leaves – 4 to 5 leaves broken into small pieces
To Grind:
Grated Coconut – ¼ cup Cumin Seeds – 1 tbsp Fennel Seeds – 1 tsp Green Chilly – 1 (I had big lengthy ones, so went with 1. Adjust as per the size and preference)
Prep – Work:
Peel the bottle gourd skin and chop into small pieces. Grind the coconut, fennel seeds, cumin seeds and green chilly together by adding 3 traps of water.
Steps:
Heat the kadai and add coconut oil. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and broken curry leaves. As the cumin seeds start to crackle, add the chopped bottle gourd pieces and mix well. Add the salt and sprinkle 2 tbsps of water and mix nicely. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes. Now remove the lid and by now bottle gourd would have oozed more water. Cook again for 3 to 4 minutes or until the bottle gourd becomes tender and soft. Now add the ground coconut masala and mix well. Bring to one boil and that’s it, the kootu is ready.
Notes:
You can replace bottle gourd with chayote, ridge gourd or cucumber. Adjust the salt and spice as per your preference. Also adjust the cumin seed and fennel ratio as per your preference. Coconut oil is preferred, but can be replaced with olive oil or any other suggested oils suited for paleo diet. I prepared the thick consistency kootu, but you can add 1 more cup of water and bring it to boil for thin consistency.
Enjoying Bottle Gourd Gravy or Suraikai Kootu? You will love these, too:
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📖 Recipe
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