Sorekayi (Lauki) kootu - Bottle gourd stew

As children growing up in Bangalore, Bottle gourd was seldom used in our household. Only after knowing its benefits, my mother started using it. Following are the benefits of it:

1. Has a cooling effect so helps in aiding digestion.
2. It is good for diabetes patients to reduce thirst and bring down blood sugar levels.
3. Juice of bottle gourd helps in weight loss.
4. Helps to prevent premature greying of hair.
5. It acts as an electrolyte and helps balance the body, remedies constipation and diarrhea.
6. It is excellent in reducing high blood pressure.
7. Remedies Urinary Tract Infections (UTI) like cranberries.
8. Reduces liver inflammation.
9. Regulates body hormone levels and blood cholesterol levels.
10. Is excellent antioxidant.

Though this vegetable is very effective health wise whilst taken in a juice form, as a vegetable it retains most of its properties, if not all. 

Most common recipes of bottle gourd are halwa, kofta and stir fry (subzi). It has a high water content so does not take too much time to cook. This is a different sort of stew, since the normal one, which my mom makes, has too much spice in it. Make sure to remove the outer skin while cooking bottle gourd and wash the slimy fresh skin with water. Inside of it resembles Chinese Okra (Heerekayi). If the seeds are too evident remove the seeds. Did you know it is actually a type of pumpkin? I mean who knew right :)

Serves: 4

Preparation Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 small bottle gourd diced to 1" cubes
• 1/2 cup moong dal (green gram)
• 1 tsp ghee or oil
• 5-6 curry leaves (optional)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• A pinch of hing (asafetida)
• Salt as needed

Ingredients to grind:

• 1/3 cup coconut shredded
• 1/3 tsp black pepper corns
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 4-5 green chillies depending on level of heat needed
• 1 tsp rice flour or 1 tsp rice soaked in water for 30 mins
• A pinch of hing (asafetida)

Method:

• Grind the ingredients in the to grind section with little water into a paste.
• Cook the moong dal in pressure cooker or in a pan (instructions below).
• In a pan, add ghee and once hot, add mustard seeds.
• Once the mustard seeds crackle, add hing and curry leaves.
• Add in the bottle gourd pieces and sprinkle some salt and little water.
• Cover and cook for 10 mins till soft.
• Now add the ground masala and cook for 5 mins till the rawness is gone.
• Add the cooked moong daal and stir it for 5 mins allowing the veggies, masala and moong dal to combine and then switch off the stove.

To cook in pressure cooker add almost 2 cups of water (we want it to be little watery), a pinch of turmeric and salt. Let it cook for 3 whistles. 

To cook in a pan, first fry the moong dal till it becomes warm and you can smell the moong dal roasting. To this add 2 cups water and pinch of turmeric and salt and let it boil. Once it boils cover and cook it on sim, it takes 30-45 mins.