In this recipe, bottle gourd is cooked in its own juices with minimum spices. Homemade or store bought lentil dumplings add both flavor and texture. A simple niramish or vegetarian curry that takes less than 30 minutes to make.
About the recipe
Bengali cuisine is one of my favorite Indian cuisines. I have quite a few Bengali recipes on the blog that I really love. Like this sweet and sour begun-er-tok or this bitter gourd curry or this amazing malpua. What I truly love about Bengali cuisine is the bold flavors. They do not shy away from combining sweet with sour, spice with bitterness and so on. But this bottle gourd curry known as lau ghonto or Bengali lau is a simple and easy to make dish with just a few ingredients. There is no onion or garlic in this curry. It is flavored with some whole spices. Focus is on the vegetable, lauki aka bottle gourd. If you are a veggie lover like me, then you will enjoy the simple flavors. Do give this lau bori recipe a try, I am sure you will enjoy it.
Ingredients
For the details of the exact quantities of each ingredient and the list of ingredients needed, check the printable recipe card below. You need the below to make this lau ghonto with bori recipe: Lau, bottle gourd, lauki - choose a tender, green gourd free from any blemishes and spots. Peel and chop them into small pieces. Bori or sun dried lentil dumplings aka vadi - traditionally vadi made of urad dal are used in this recipe. But the ones made with moong dal can also be used. If you don’t have any on hand, simply omit and make lauki ki sabzi Bengali style. Other ingredients you need are:
TomatoesWhole spices - cinnamon, bay leaf, cumin seedsSpices - red chili powder, ground cumin, turmeric Flavoring - ginger, green chilies, salt
Instructions
For the detailed instructions on how to make the recipe with exact timings, check the printable recipe card below. To make lau bori, start my frying the bori or vadi. In a medium size pan, heat oil on medium heat. Add the vadi and cook till they are golden brown. Remove them onto a plate and set aside. To the same pan, add bay leaf, cinnamon stick and cumin seeds. Once the seeds start to splutter, add the green chilies and tomatoes. Cook covered until tomatoes are mushy. Add chopped bottle gourd, turmeric, ground cumin, red chili powder and salt. Sauté uncovered for 2~3 minutes. Then cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the bottle gourd is tender, about 10~12 minutes. Turn off the heat and crumble the fried vadi on top and serve with steamed rice.
Tips
Make sure to chop the lauki into small-ish pieces.You can par cook bottle gourd in the microwave for a few minutes to expedite the cooking process.Add the fried vadi on top just before serving, otherwise they will get soggy.You can use either urad dal vadi (preferred) or moong dal vadi. I used homemade ones that my mom made.
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Here are a few more delicious recipes with bottle gourd I love hearing from you!! If you’ve tried this and liked it, then don’t forget to let me know. Give a star rating and let me know in the comments below. Also tag me in your creations on Instagram @cooks_hideout. I love sharing photos when people make my recipes. You can use the hashtag #cookshideout too.
