Lauki Kofta

Name: Lauki Kofta
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: ¾ teaspoon table salt; ½ teaspoon garam masala (spice mix); 3½ tablespoons besan (chickpea/gram flour); 8 pieces tamarind with seeds (see Note); ½ teaspoon table salt; ¼ teaspoon red chile powder; 2 medium red onions, chopped; ¾ teaspoon ground turmeric; 1½ small lauki (bottle gourd; see Note); 1 quart (800 ml) vegetable oil; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro; 3 tablespoons vegetable oil; ¾ teaspoon red chile powder; 1½ tablespoons ground coriander; 5 medium tomatoes, puréed

Bottle gourd and tamarind dumplings in a spicy sauce

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

How to Cook Indian

By Sanjeev Kapoor

Published 2011

About

I grew up in a very Punjabi atmosphere where koftas were cooked at least once a week. This is one of my favorite dishes from childhood. I remember being excited by the surprising tamarind filling inside.

Ingredients

For the kofta

1½ small lauki (bottle gourd; see Note)
3½ tablespoons besan (chickpea/gram flour)

Asia
India
Main course
Spicy
Vegan
Punjab

Method

Make the koftas: Peel the bottle gourd and then grate coarsely. Squeeze to remove the excess water. Put in a large bowl, add the besan, chile powder, and salt, and combine well. It will be sticky but manageable. Divide into 8 portions.
Stuff one piece of tamarind into each portion and shape into balls.
Place a nonstick wok over high heat