Bottle Gourd and Carrot Kofta Curry

If there is one thing I like about vegetables is that some of them are extremely versatile; they can be used across cuisines and courses. For instance, carrots can go into curries, dry sabzis and the all time favorite dessert, carrot halwa. Another such vegetable is the bottle gourd. This again can be cooked in myriad ways.

This is also a vegetable that many people don't prefer, or sometimes don't know how to incorporate into a meal. Here's an interesting way to include this gourd into your culinary repertoire.

Ingredients (Serves 2)

For Kofta

Grated bottle gourd – 1 cup (approx)

Grated carrot – ¼ cup (approx)

Salt – 1 tsp + more to taste

Chili powder to taste

Besan (gram flour) as required

Oil for deep frying

For Gravy

Tomato – 1 (large)

Chopped onion – ½ cup

Chopped red bell pepper – ½ cup (optional)

Garlic – 1 clove

Garam masala – 1 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Chili powder to taste

Salt to taste

Coriander/cilantro for garnish

Oil

Method

Add 1 tsp of salt to the grated vegetables and keep aside for 10 minutes. The salt will bring out all the water content in the bottle gourd. Squeeze out all the excess water and keep aside (this can be used in the gravy of the curry or to knead the dough for your chappathis). Add a little more salt and chili powder to the vegetables. Add the besan and incorporate well to form a sticky mixture. The bottle gourd will keep absorbing the besan, so add just enough to ensure that a ball made of the mixture will hold its shape.

Heat oil in a deep vessel. Once it is hot, deep fry the koftas and drain on a paper towel.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan and add the garlic. Sauté for a minute and add the chopped onion. Sauté until the onions are tender and add the chopped tomato and bell pepper (if using), turmeric powder, chili powder and salt. Cover and allow to simmer until tomatoes are cooked and mushy. Remove from the heat and blend into a smooth mixture.

Return to the pan and allow to simmer and thicken a little. Add the garam masala and turn off the heat. When you are ready to serve, place the koftas in a serving bowl and pour the hot gravy over it. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve hot with chappathis or rice. Bon Appétit.

Note: A shortcut for the gravy – I used ¾ can of V8 low sodium vegetable juice, which has a tomato base. To that I added a blended mixture of cooked onions and red bell pepper and the remaining ingredients.

Banana-Chocolate Swirl Bread

On December 20^th, my husband and I went to the nearby super market and bought 4 perfectly ripe bananas. We were leaving on a trip the next day, which involved a long flight. The bananas were supposed to be our breakfast/snack. The 21^stdawned..oh actually it didn't, we were up by 3 because we had to be ready by 4. Anyway, long story short, we forgot the bananas at home. Fast forward 11 days: on our return flight, my husband and I were discussing the forgotten bananas and I said,"they'll be perfect for banana bread/muffins as long as they aren't spoiled." We come back home after an enjoyable trip and the bananas were right where we had left them: in a plastic cover on the dining table. And to my surprise, only one of them had a spoiled tip, the rest were perfectly edible! Because I had already pictured a banana bread in my head, I just had to make it. Here is an older version, minus the chocolate.

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour – 1 ½ cups

Baking powder – 1 ½ tsps

Honey – ½ cup (or to taste)

Milk – ¾ cup

Mashed bananas – 1 heaped cup

Fresh nutmeg powder – ½ tsp

Olive oil/cooking oil – 5 tbsps
Flax seeds - 2 tbsps (optional)

Cocoa powder 2 tbsps
A pinch of salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 350^oF.

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl (flour, baking powder, salt, flax seeds, and nutmeg).

Mix the wet ingredients (honey, oil, milk, and mashed bananas) in a separate bowl and fold into the dry mix.

Blend well. Pour half or slightly less than half the batter into a bowl and mix the cocoa powder: so now you have one plain batter and one dark brown batter. Pour the plain batter into a greased loaf pan. Pour the chocolate batter over it. Using a knife or skewer swirl the two batters together. The batter is slightly on the thicker side, so the swirls will not be perfect. Bake it for 30-35 minutes or until done. Slice and serve. Bon Appétit.