Lau Ghonto - Bottlegourd curry with Milk

Here is another Lau preparation from my kitchen. This Lauki/ Bottle Gourd recipe is a Bengali specialty for summer. 

We, Bengalis have a habit of putting together very unique ingredients and come up with something very tasty. This one is a summer special and you can try for this which is healthy as well as easy to cook.

Ingredients for Lau Ghonto with milk are:

1.      1 ½ medium Bottle Gourd/ Lauki/ Lau

2.      ¼ cup green peas

3.      1 ½  tsp cumin seeds

4.      ½ tsp turmeric powder (optional)

5.      2 green chilies, broken from the center

6.      2 bay leaves

7.      Sunflower/any white oil ( amount varies on your cholesterol level – Ha Ha)

8.      1 tsp coriander powder

9.      1 tsp Jeera powder

10.    1 tsp Garam Masala

11.    1 ½  tbsp ginger paste (or you can smash the real ginger)

12.    1 tsp all-purpose flour/ maida (optional)

13.    7-8 tbsp milk

14.    2 tsp ghee

15.    Sugar  & Salt according to your taste

16.    2-2 ½ tbsp fine rice/Jeera rice/ Bengali gobindobhog/ (to add a nice smell)

This preparation is for 3 -4 persons.

Procedure

1.      Wash the whole bottle gourd and peel the skin. Cut small sections of the gourd and then chop each very finely.

2.      In a non-stick pan or kadai heat oil. Add bay leaf, broken green chilly and cumin seeds.

3.      When the cumin seeds crackle add the finely chopped gourd, green peas and rice. Add salt and turmeric powder. If you do not want yellowish color you can skip turmeric.

4.      Cover and cook till the lauki is done but not mushy. The salt will release a lot of water from gourd and it will cook on its own water.

5.      Add ginger paste, jeera and dhania powder. If you want more spicy stuff here you can add red chilly powder according to your taste. Stir and mix

6.      Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Then add garam masala, sugar and ghee. Stir and mix well

7.      Cook for another minute or so. Boil milk in separate pan and pour it over the curry. If you want thick gravy you can add maida with the milk. Let the maida and milk mixture get absorbed by the vegetable. The consistency at the end should be thick and not runny.

8.      Mix everything well and cook for 30 seconds.

And now our Lau ghonto with milk is ready. Ummmm.. it is yummy and I can smell it.

This curry is usually made for lunch and served with rice as a first course, sometimes second only to fried stuff. It needs to be served hot – otherwise the smell will not be there. Even if you freeze it heat it before you serve.

As always please feel free to comment, criticize and seek if any help is required. I am all ears.