Sorakkai Koottu

Bottle gourd or sorakkai as it is called in TamilNadu, is a very regularly used vegetable in almost every home. It cooks fast and it is a nutritious one too. My mother-in-law is the one who introduced me to sorakkai and I have been making it almost every week for the past three years. It is one of Vivek's favorite veges. This is an easy recipe made with bengal gram and can be eaten with rice and rotis.

Require :-
Bottle gourd - 1
Bengal gram - 1 cup
Coconut - 1/2 cup
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Green chilies - 4 nos
Salt to taste
Curry leaves - a few
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Urad dhal - 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida - 3 to 4 pinch
Oil for seasoning
Salt to taste

Method:-

1. In a deep kadai pour 3 cups of water and add the washed bengal gram and allow it to cook.






2.In the meantime, remove the skin of the vegetable and cut it into 1 inch cubes and keep it aside.






3. In a mixie grind the coconut, cumin seeds and green chilies together into a fine paste using little water.






4. Once the bengal gram is 3/4 done add the cut bottle gourd and let it cook. Add a little water if needed.






5. When half done add the ground paste and salt and let it simmer into a thick consistency.






6. In a small kadai pour 1 tsp of cooking oil and when hot add the mustard seeds, urad dhal, hing and curry leaves.





7. Once it stops spluttering add it to the kootu once it is done and mix it.
8. Serve hot with rice or rotis.

P.S. - If you do not prefer coconut you can grind around 2 tbspns of kaskas or sesame seeds,it will still be flavorful.


I am sending this to Srivalli's Curry Mela.