Bottle Gourd (Loki) Raita Recipe
This very cooling and delicious yogurt dish is good either with plain boiled rice or chapatis. On a hot summer’s day it makes a perfect light lunch served with chapatis. In our family, people enjoy this dish who refuse to eat bottle gourds cooked any other way, as it is virtually unrecognizable!
Ingredients 1 bottle gourd (loki) 1 pot yogurt (about 2 cups, quantity unimportant) Salt to taste 2 tbsp oil 4 cloves garlic, sliced paper thin 1 sprig curry leaves (about 12 leaves) ½ tsp powdered turmeric ½ tsp powdered red chilli 2 tsp cumin seeds 2 tsp kalonji (onion seeds) Options Courgettes (zucchini) or marrow can be substituted if you don’t have bottle gourd. Choose something fresh, green and juicy, without a strong taste. |
Method Peel the gourd and chop it into rough cubes. Place it in a saucepan with a little water and boil until the gourd starts to disintegrate and the water is much reduced (leave about 1-2 tbsp water). Mash it up roughly in the pan; do not discard the water. In a large, flat serving dish, beat the yogurt and salt together with a fork until it is creamy and smooth. Add the gourd and its cooking water and mix it all together well. In a frying pan heat the oil and then fry the garlic on a medium heat until it just starts to turn golden. Add the cumin and kalonji seeds and fry until they start to pop. Turn off the heat and quickly add the curry leaves, turmeric and chilli. After a couple of seconds, pour the oil and spices over the yogurt in the dish. Leave to cool. Serve immediately or chill first in the fridge. |
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