Lazeez Lauki (Tasty Stuffed Bottle Gourd) is a traditional Indian recipe for classic vegetarian dish of a bottle gourd stuffed with a spiced curd that's cooked in a curd mixture before being sliced and served. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Indian version of: Tasty Stuffed Bottle Gourd (Lazeez Lauki).
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Ingredients:
500g whole bottle gourd (Lauki)
250ml curds (or curd cheese or yoghurt)
250g khoya
8–10 cashew nuts
1 tbsp chironji (charoli) nuts
1/4 tsp hot chilli powder
1 tsp kewra water
pinch of saffron
For the Spice Paste:
5 green cardamom pods
5 cloves
1 piece mace
2 onions, finely sliced
1 tbsp poppy seeds
Ghee or oil for frying
Other:
Salt to taste
Coriander (cilantro) leaves, to garnish
Method:
Wash the bottle gourd then peel it. Prick the bottle gourd with a fork, cut off the top and scoop out the insides. Rub all over the outside with 1 tsp salt then set aside for 15 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare the spice paste. Crumble the saffron into the kewra water and set aside. Combine the cardamom, cloves and mace in a spice or coffee grinder and render to a fine powder.
Heat a little oil or ghee in a pan, add the finely-sliced onions and fry until golden brown. Take off the heat and set aside to cool then grind to a paste. Heat a dry non-stick pan over low heat, add the poppy seeds and toast for a few minutes. Turn into your grinder, add a tablespoon of the curd and render to a smooth paste.
Chop the cashew nuts, mix with the kewra and heat in a non-stick pan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the khoya turns light pink. Take off the heat and stir in the chironji. Set aside to cool then season to taste with salt and stir in 2 tbsp of the curd. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
Heat a little ghee in a pan, add the bottle gourd and fry whole, turning regularly, until browned on all sides.
Stuff the gourd with the kewra-cashew mixture. Mix the onion paste, poppy seed paste and spice powder with the remaining curds. Now add the saffron-kewra water and red chilli powder. Season with salt and mix thoroughly to combine.
Pour the yoghurt mix into a shallow pan, add a tablespoon of ghee and the gourd and turn to mix. Cook over low heat for about 30 minutes, turning the gourd occasionally, or until the gourd is tender all the way through.
Cut the gourd into 3m thick slices. Arrange on a serving dish, pour over the sauce, garnish with coriander leaves and serve.
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