NON-FRIED LAUKI KOFTA

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cup grated lauki (bottle gourd)
1/2 cup grated carrot(optional)
1/4 cup besan (gram flour)
2 chopped onions
2 chopped tomatoes
3 tbsp tomato puree or tomato sauce
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
1 tsp kasuri meethi
1 cup water
salt and chili to taste


Lauki kofta is very common side dish in Indian houses. Koftas are made by deep frying. These days mothers and families are very conscious and want to avoid oily food as much as possible. But when kofta word comes it mean fried.

Here I did not fry kofta. I used appam for making koftas. I believe it's a boom. We can make many dishes in it. will soon upload more appam pan related recipes.

In this recipe I used 1/2 cup grated carrot to make koftas more healthy, which is purely optional.

To give good binding to kofta, besan is required. If you add more of besan, kofta will become very hard. Add less besan just to bind it. I don't squeeze out the water of bottle-gourd. In case your bottle-gourd have excessive water, squeeze out some of it.

while cooking kofta in appam pan it's better to cover it for fast cooking. Always keep gas flame low when cooking in this pan.

To check whether kofta is cooked well from inside, pierce toothpick or knife, if comes out clean, it's cooked.

Let's see the method of cooking kofta now:


METHOD
Peel and wash bottle-gourd and grate it. Add besan, salt, chilli, carom seeds. Mix well and make smooth batter. Grease appam pan with little oil, put bottle-gourd in it. cover and cook till sides become brown.Flip it and let it cook from other side too. Keep the gas flame low. Cook it till done. Check by inserting knife or toothpick, it should come out clean. Keep kofta aside.

For gravy:
Saute onion and ginger-garlic paste in oil till golden in colour. Add salt, chilli, turmeric powder, garama masala, coriander powder.

Add chopped tomatoes, cook and cover till soft and cooked. Add tomato puree and cook till oil leaves the sides of pan. Add kasuri meethi and corinder leaves.

Add water and let it boil, add cooked kofta and simmer on low flame for 2-3 minutes. cover and let it sit for 15-20minutes. Serve hot.

If vegetable comes too thick add more water.

 Pictorial:

1. Saute onion, ginger garlic paste till golden in colour.

2. Add chopped tomato, salt, turmeric, coriander powder and garam masala.Cover and cook.











3. Add tomato puree or tomato sauce.

4. Cook till oil leaves the sides of pan.











5. Add water.let it boil.

6. Take grated bottle gourd, carrot and besan, mix well with salt, carom seeds and chilli.

7. Grease appam pan with oil.

8. Put lauki-besan batter in it. Cover and cook.

7. When sides become brown turn it.

8. Turn, cover and cook from other side.

9. It's ready. Check by inserting fork or knife, it should come out clean. Put in gravy simmer for 5 minutes.

10. Garnish and serve hot.

11. Closer look.