Ghiya / Lauki Kofta balls in Tomato gravy

After a busy Saturday, we decided to stay home-bound on Sunday. I have been promising appa that I would make "Paneer parathas" for him and amma has been promising V that she would make her koftas. So we "girls" dedicated the morning for cooking the desired items and of course at the end of it, we left the cleaning to the "boys".

Amma's kofta recipe was an instant hit. She uses "Ghiya" (also called "lauki" or "dhoodhi" in Hindi, "Sorakkai" in Tamil and bottle gourd in English). Bottle gourd is abundantly available in India during summer time (like zucchini in the US) and is supposed to be cooling for the body, in addition to having a ton of other health benefits.

The paneer parathas, which I made, were just okay - Appa declared that he would like it to be more stuffed.

So here's the recipe for just the kofta.

Ingredients:

For kofta balls:

1 medium Ghiya, seeded and grated

2 medium potatoes

4 Tbsp besan (gram flour)

1 medium size carrot - grated

1 tsp chili powder

1 Tbsp garam masala

2 tsp dhania powder (coriander seeds powder)

1 green chilies - very finely minced

1 pinch turmeric

salt to taste

3 Tbsp oil + Oil for frying

Gravy:

1 medium onion

3 large tomatoes

1/2 inch piece ginger

2 green chilies

garlic is optional but we did not use it

1 pinch turmeric

1 pinch chili powder

1 Tbsp garam masala

1 tsp cumin seeds

salt to taste

finely chopped cilantro for garnish

Method:

Making the kofta balls

1. After grating the bottle gourd, let it sit on a colander for the water to drain

2. Boil and mash the potatoes

3. Heat the pan, add the besan and dry roast for few minutes and set aside

4. Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and then add the green chilies

5. Then add the mashed potatoes and a few minutes later, add grated carrots and cook

6. Then add the grated bottle gourd

7. Add all the spices and cook for 10-15 minutes on low heat

8. Then sprinkle the roasted besan slowly and mix

9. Let it cook

10. Make balls with the mixture and set aside. We got around 25 balls with the above ingredients.

11. Heat oil in a deep pan. Add the kofta balls and fry till golden brown. Drain on paper towels and keep aside

Making the gravy

1. Puree the tomatoes, onion, ginger, green chilies (and garlic if using) and keep aside

2. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds

3. Add the ground puree, turmeric, chili powder, coriander powder, salt and let it simmer for 20 minutes till it becomes slightly thick

4. Garnish with chopped cilantro

Right before serving, place gravy in serving cup and drop 2-3 kofta balls into it. Enjoy with chapatis or parathas.