Culinary Aromas
- Oct 8, 2020
- 3 min read

Lauki Kofta Curry | Bottle Gourd Kofta Curry

Updated: Nov 19, 2020

This is one dish I always relish - as my mom makes it amazingly well. Lauki is one of my favorite vegetables. I enjoy it in many forms - sabzi, dal, kofta or in akki rotti. My kids enjoy the kofta curry so much that when I make it, it just disappears from their plate in minutes.

The lauki plant is a new addition to my backyard veggie garden and is growing very well. I have had beautiful harvests of lauki recently and this is the dish I made with my very first harvest. Lauki goes by different names - Bottle gourd, Opo squash, Calabash, Sorakai, Ghia, Doodhi.

Lauki is a healthy vegetable that is high in water content, rich in Calcium, Vitamin C & K. It is known to regulate blood pressure and sugar levels. I highly recommend that you include this vegetable in your diet.

The koftas are traditionally deep fried. However, when air fried, they are done with just 1 - 2 tsp of oil and come out soft, but also crispy. And most importantly, they taste just as good as the fried ones.

Explained in the post, are both air fried and deep fried methods of making lauki kofta and a delicious gravy to coat the crispy koftas (round dumpling balls) in. The dish is extremely delicious and goes well with roti or naan.

Video

Ingredients

1 cup = 250ml or 128g

For Kofta

1 1/2 cups grated bottle gourd or lauki (depending on size)
¼ cup onion (or 1 small onion)
5 tbsp besan or gram flour
2 tbsp rice flour
2 cloves of garlic
1 inch ginger
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp cumin or jeera powder
11/4 tsp salt
Oil
For deep frying: as needed
For Air frying: 1 tsp

For puree’

2 medium sized onion
3 medium sized tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger
1 bay leaf
1 small cinnamon stick
4 pepper corns
4 cloves
2 green chilli
6 cashew
2 tbsp oil

Gravy

1 tsp cumin or jeera
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp kashmiri red chili powder or normal red chili powder
1 tsp coriander or dhaniya powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp kasuri methi.
2 tsp cream (Optional)
Coriander leaves or cilantro for garnishing

Instructions

Kofta

Peel the skin off of the Bottle gourd and remove the seeds. Seeds can be used to make chutney or raita.

Grate it using a grater or a food processor.
To the grated lauki, add 1 tsp salt. Salt helps release all the water from lauki. Mix well and leave it aside for 30 mins.
After 30 mins, squeeze and remove all the water from lauki. Save this water. We will use it in the gravy.

Take the grated lauki in a bowl.
To this, add grated ginger and garlic.
Then add red chili powder, jeera powder, gram flour and rice flour.
Add ¼ tsp salt or as needed. Since we already added 1 tsp salt, this should be enough.
Mix well.
Now make balls as shown below.

Deep Fry Method

Deep fry at a low flame. This ensures the inside of the kofta is cooked well.

Air Fry Method

Preheat the air fryer at 350F for 5 min.
Place the koftas on the air fryer basket and brush with little oil.
Air fry at 300F for 8-10min. Air frying at a low temperature helps the inside to cook well.

Flip the koftas, Shape them and place them back on the basket.
Brush with little oil.

Air fry at 300F for 8-10 min to cook this side. The koftas will be very light brown at this point.
Now, increase the temperature to 350F and air fry for 5 more min, flipping in between. Keep an eye so it does not burn.
Koftas are ready and cooked well inside.

To make the Puree

Warm 2 tbsp oil in a Pan or Kadai on low flame.
Add grated garlic and ginger. Then add the chopped green chili.
Stir it once.
Add bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns one by one.
Fry until light brown.
Add the chopped onions. Fry them until translucent.
Add the chopped cashews.
Add the chopped tomatoes. Fry until soft.
Keep the mix aside to cool.
Once cooled, transfer to a blender and blend to a fine paste.

To make the gravy

Add 3 tbsp oil to the pan. Keep the flame low to prevent masalas from burning.
Add jeera, turmeric, dhaniya powder, chili powder and garam masala, one by one.
Add the purée. Stir it well. It will splutter. So, cover with a lid.
Cook for 5 mins.
Add salt and the water we saved from lauki.
Stir and cook for 10-15 min. Add more water if needed.
Crush and add the kasuri methi.
Add cream as per taste. This is optional.
Gravy is ready.
Add the koftas to the gravy just before serving, so it does not become too soft. If you like juicy koftas, add the koftas to the gravy and cook for 5 minutes before serving.