Sorakaya Masala/ Bottle gourd curry

If you are someone who thinks Bottle gourd is a boring vegetable with no special taste or recipe for it, then here is a recipe that might change your mind after all. I learned this recipe from my sister-in-law (thodikodalu) who originally learned it from our mother-in-law and I found it to bevery tasty and most importantly: quick and easy! Here is how it's made:

Ingredients:

1 Bottle gourd/Sorakaya

1 medium sized onion

5 green chillies (depending on the chillies you use, mine are very spicy)

1 tbsp Oil

1 tsp Ginger garlic paste

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

Salt

Red chilli powder (if necessary)

Corriander Powder

Curry Leaves

Cilantro

1 cup Milk

Method:

1. Heat oil in a wide pan and add cumin seeds and green chillies to start with. After half a minute, add the chopped onions.

2. As the onions are cooking, add the ginger garlic paste and curry leaves.

3. Cook the onions till they turn lightly brown and add the peeled and chopped bottle guard.

4. Now add salt and cover the pan with a lid to allow the vegetable to cook.

5. As the bottle gourd starts to soften (partly) add the milk, corriander powder and any other masala powder you wish to use. Again close the lid and let the vegetable boil/cook in milk.

6.Stir occasionally with the lid closed until the vegetable is fully cooked (it should be soft when you try to cut it).

7. You may add red chilli powder at any time if you need it be more spicy or to add some color to the dish.

8. When finished, add the cilantro to garnish and serve it with roti or rice.

మజ్జిగ పులుసు: Majjiga Pulusu- Buttermilk soup stew with vegetables

INGREDIENTS:

1. Yogurt.....................2 cups

2. Bottle Gourd..............................1/2 piece

3. Drumstic........................................2

4. Salt.........................................as required

5. Turmeric.....................................1/4 t sp.

6. Red Chilly......................................1

7. Few Curry leaves...........................few.

8. Cilantro.......................................for garnishing.

FOR MASALA :

1. Bengal Gram Dal.................................2 t sp.

2. Rice Grains............................................1 t sp.

3. Coriander Seeds....................................1 t sp.

4. Cumin Seeds...........................................1 t sp.

5. Mustard Seeds.........................................2 t s

6. Red Chilly..................................................2 or 3

7. Fresh Coconut.............................................3 tbl sp.

8. Green chilly...............................................4 or 5.

9. Garlic...........................................................3 cloves.

10. Ginger piece.

METHOD: 

1. Cut veg. into medium size pieces. cut drumstics into 3'' long.

2. Cook them with little salt. keep aside.

3. Soak 1 to 6 all masala items in minimum water for one hr.

4. Take yogurt in a big vessel, put 2 cups of water and make butter milk using beater. See the consistency not too thin nor too thick. After masala added and coked it gets thick any way. you must keep this in mind. So you can do according your liking.

5. Grind the soaked items adding 7 to 10 items also. It should be very smooth.

6. Now mix this ground paste into the butter milk. Again churn it nicely.There must not be any lumps.

7. Keeping it on medium heat, Boil it slowly, stirring continuously in the beginning. Other wise it gets curdled. later you must do in intervals because it suddenly comes up, and over flows. that should be taken care of. Add salt as per taste.

8. Now add veg. which was cooked and kept ready.

9. Bring one or two Boils. take out off the stove, because Curd should not be heated long.

10. For seasoning, keep small pan, put 1 t sp. ghee. when it is hot add cut red chilly pieces also 

curry leaves. Pour this hot one in the ready Majjiga Pulusu.

Note: When we use Garlic , no need of putting Asafoetida in the seasoning.

సొరకాయ ఆవ పెట్టి కూర: Sorakaya ava petti kura: Bottle gourd with mustard

INGREDIENTS

1. Bottle Guard...............1.medium size
2.Tamarind......................big lemon size soaked.
3.Mustard seeds.............2 tbl sp.soaked and made into paste with same water.
4.Jaggery.........................small lemon size.
5.Turmeric........................1/2 tsp.
6.Oil...................................2 tbsp.
7. Water............................2 cups.
8. Salt...............................as per the taste.

Seasoning:

9.Red chillies ..................3 no.
10.Bengal gram dal...........1tbsp.
11.Black gram dal...............1 tbl sp
12.Mustard seeds for seasoning...1/12 tsp.
13.Cumin seeds............................1/12 tsp.
14. Asafoetida................................1/4tsp

Method:

1. Soak mustard seeds in enough water.
2. Soak tamarind in water to get pulp.
3. Peel guard and cut into small cubes.
4.Heat oil in a pan and add seasoning after splitters then add guard pieces.
5. Add water and salt and keep the lid.
6.Grind soaked mustard into paste.
7. Take out pulp from soaked tamarind and keep aside.
8. When veg. cooked 3/4 add tamarind pulp and jaggery.
9. Cook until it is soft.
10. Add mustard paste and cook for two more minutes.
11. Garnish with cilantro and serve.


This item goes with rice and roti.

సొరకాయ మజ్జిగ పులుసు: Sorakaaya majjiga pulusu- Bottle gourd yogurt gravy

Ingredients
2 cups bottle gourd(sorakaya/kaddu) diced into pieces
1 cup Yogurt
2 cups water
1 tbsp chana dal/senaga pappu
t tsp cumin seeds/jeera
1 tbsp fresh kobbari/grated coconut
2 chillies
1 inch ginger
1/4 tsp turmeric
cilantro

Tadka/Seasoning/Thiragamatha
1 tsp mustard seeds/aavalu
1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
pinch of hing/inguva
curry leaves/karivepaku
1 tsp oil

Preparation/ Thayarucheyatam
1. Soak chana dal for 1 hour and grind them along with ginger,grated coconut,green chillies by adding liitle amount of water to make a fine paste.
2. Add 1 cup water and boil the bottle gourd pieces.
3. Mix 1 cup of water to 1 cup of yogurt and beat well.
4. Add the ground paste,turmeric ,boiled bottlegourd pieces to majjiga/buttermilk and mix well.
5. Transfer buttermilk mixture into a deep pan and cook on low flame. Add salt and mix well.
6. Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan, add mustard seeds,once they splutter add cumin seeds, hing, curry leaves and remove from fire and pour into the majjiga pulusu
7. Garnish with cilantro

Variations: Instead of bottle gourd/sorakaaya you can use pumpkin/gummadikaaya or drumstick/munakkayaa or seema vankaaya.