Gardudde/Bottlegourd/Lauki~ Peanuts Dry Curry.

"Gardudde / Bottlegourd / Lauki / Sorekai / Turai ~ Peanuts Dry Curry" ... A delicious dry curry that goes very well as a side dish with roti / paratha or you can serve it with poori the way I did ... The recipe credit goes to my friend Gladys Floret Ananda ... Thanks dear, it was awesome, I just tweaked it a little bit and added on a little bit of coconut while rest of the recipe remains the same ... Yummilicious .... 

** When my friend Gladys posted this recipe in my food group “Konkani Delicacies” I loved it at first sight and I immediately wanted to try out the dish. I somehow knew this would taste awesome. Gladys is a fantastic cook and shares yummy recipes. I have often prepared a few of her dishes and I can assure you this one is really awesome. I just tweaked the recipe a little bit by cutting down on the amount of peanuts and added on a little bit of freshly grated coconut. I am as usual partial to coconut and love a little bit of it in my gravies, be it semi coarse dish or fine ones. You may leave out the coconut and add on a little bit more of peanuts if you prefer it. In all a fantastic recipe, which I am sure to try with some other veggies too. 

** Here is my Version of the recipe … 

Gardudde / Lauki / Bottle Gourd : 500-600 gms 

Kashmiri Red Chilly : 4-6 

Garlic : 6-8 peeled and chopped 

Onion : 1 medium sized peeled and chopped 

Peanuts / Groundnuts : 2 tblsp 

Coconut : 2 tblsp freshly grated. 

Sesame Seeds / White Til : 2 tblsp 

Turmeric / Haldi Powder : a large pinch. 

Oil : 1 tsp 

Salt to taste. 

** For Tempering : 

Oil : 1 tsp 

Cumin Seeds / Jeera : 1 tsp 

Mustard Seeds / Rai / Sasam : 1 tsp 

Curry Leaves : 8-10 fresh one’s 

** Peel / slice off the outer skin of the gardudde / lauki / Bottle gourd and cut into medium sized cubes. Please keep in mind that the bottle gourd purchased should be tender and not bitter in taste. So buy smaller sized ones to be safe. 

** Wash the gardudde / bottle gourd pieces, put it in a thick bottomed kadai along with 1 cup of water and salt to taste and bring to a boil on medium heat. Lower the heat, cover and cook till 80% done. Remove and keep this ready aside. 

** In a thick bottomed pan add in the 1 tsp of oil, when hot add in the onion pieces, garlic pieces, red chillies cut into pieces, sesame seeds and the peanuts. Fry for a few minutes, then add in the haldi powder, coconut and fry all till well roasted. 

** Put the roasted ingredients into a mixer grinder and grind all to a coarse paste. You can use the bottle gourd cooked water while grinding. The masala ground should not be too smooth, but slightly rough in texture. 

** In a thick bottomed pan add in the oil for tempering, when hot add in the mustard seeds, when they begin to splutter add in the jeera and curry leaves and fry for a second. Now add in the coarsely ground mixture and fry on low heat for 2-3 minutes till well heated. 

** Now add in the cooked gardudde / bottle gourd and mix well. Check salt and add if necessary. Remember we have added while cooking the bottle gourd too. Mix well and let cook on slow heat for 5 minutes or till thoroughly heated. Remove from fire and keep aside covered. 

** "Gardudde/Bottlegourd/Lauki/Sorekai/Turai ~ Peanuts Dry Curry" is done and ready to be served. Tastes best when served as side dish with Chapati / Roti / Parata or Dal-Chawal too. You can serve it with Poori like I did and it tasted awesome. Enjoy this dish with your family and friends.