Bottlegourd Surprise

A friend had invited our family for dinner. She had prepared bottlegourd halwa for dessert and I was absolutely bowled over by the taste. That's when I realised I had NEVER used bottlegourd earlier. I decided to give it a try and with the tips from my mum, prepared the below mentioned dish. I made kheer, halwa, koottu and curry (on different days ofcourse!!) and I'm impressed with the veggie, which is supposed to have nutritional benefits as well.
Here's one which could be had with rice / rotis.

Ingredients :-
Bottlegourd - about 500 gm
cumin seeds - 1 tablespoon
curd - 1 tablespoon
grated coconut - 1 cup
green chillis - 2
coriander leaves - just enough to garnish
salt - 1 spoon or as per your taste
Mung dhal - 1 tablespoon
Oil - 1 tablespoon

Method :-
Soak the mung dhal in double the quantity of water. Set it aside for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a pan and add oil. Add some jeera (cumin seeds) and saute for few seconds.(make sure jeera doesn't turn dark). Now add bottle gourd pieces (peeled and cut into small cubes) and saute for few seconds. Add some water and allow the vegetable to cook until just tender. Add salt while the veggie is getting cooked, so that the salt is absorbed within the veggie. Simmer the hob. Grind chillis, jeera and grated coconut (chutney consistency) and add the mixture to the pan. Leave it for sometime for all the ingredients to blend well. Once off the hob, allow it to cool and then add the mung dhal (make sure to drain all water) and curd. Garnish with coriander leaves/parsley.

TIPS :
-Any dish that you prepare using a combi of coconut and jeera would taste better if you use coconut oil.
- This could be prepared without mung dhal, and would only taste better.

I couldn't call it curry, as there was this gravy.. couldn't name it kootu either as it wasn't of that consistency.. Kosumbari wasn't a good choice for the name as that wouldn involve raw veggies...hence just called it bottlegourd surpirse.. sorry peoples..if you've thought this to be some icecream recipe (like mango surprise).

Daliya Khichddi - For All Those Who are Fighting Weight ;-)

People like us who have an ongoing fight against fat keep hitting a road block because of the lack of a tasty diet food. Let me share with you the recipe of a dish which is not only low in fats but is rich in fiber and is tasty as well.

I am talking about ‘Daliya’ also known ‘Broken Wheat’ at some places it is also known as ‘laapsi’. It is usually eaten in a sweetened form but since I hate sweets I make a ‘khicchdi’ out of it. It is simple & quick to cook.

As per google, Broken wheat is also known as Bulgar wheat. Broken wheat is a very good source of dietary fiber and manganese. It is also a good source of magnesium.

Ingredients

• Cumin Seeds – half a teaspoon
  (Alternatively you can use Mustard seeds & Curry Leaves instead of cumin seeds)
• Asafoetida (Heeng) – A pinch
• Finely chopped Onion – 1
• Small pieces of Potato – 1 (can be skipped)
• Finely chopped Tomato - 1
• A variety of vegetables like, beans, carrot, peas, cauliflower etc all finely cut.
• Coriander leaves – a small bunch
• Ginger Garlic paste – ½ teaspoon
• 1 Green Chilly finely cut (you can obviously skip this)
• Roasted Broken Wheat – 1 & ½ cup
• Oil – 1 drop
• Salt to taste
• Red Chilly powder to taste

Take a pressure cooker, pour a drop of oil and put heeng & cumin seeds. As soon as the seeds start spluttering add the onions. As the onions turn transparent add tomato, all the vegetables, ginger garlic paste, salt & the chilly powder. Let it cook for a minute & then pour the Daliya in. Again let the whole thing cook for a minute or so.

Add water in it, the water should be such that the whole thing is submerged in it and there is about an inch of water above the whole thing. Close the lid & cook on full flame. As the first whistle blows slow down the gas and after around 5-6 minutes close the gas.

As the steam is out take the thing out and garnish it with coriander powder.

I usually have it with curd or green chutney. The whole process takes 15-20 mins but it tastes tasty and still is very light.

This is my favorite dish on days when I want to keep it light :-)

TIP : It is better that you roast the daliya and store it. This not only saves time later but also avoids it from getting spoiled.