Lauki / Doodhi kofta (लौकी के कोफ्ते) or bottle gourd kofta is a commonly made main course curry in northern part of india. The soft, melt in mouth dumplings made out of lauki dipped in onion tomato based gravy make anybody to drool for them. It contains many vitamins and minerals, such as, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, Vitamin A, C and folate. Ayurveda recommends cooked lauki or bottle gourd for better digestion. It is cooling, calming, diuretic and anti-bilious. This kofta curry is of course the easiest way to feed lauki / bottle gourd to the person who don’t like to eat normal lauki curry. I hope you like this lauki kofta recipe, it details how to make lauki ke kofte.
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What is Lauki Kofta
Kofta curry made using bottle gourd aka lauki, is called Lauki Kofta curry. First grate the lauke and then mix it with gram flour and then deep fry to make koftas. Make curry with this koftas using Indian spices to make Lauki kofta curry.
I am a huge fan of kofta curry and Lauki kofta curry is always favoured curry at home. I remember during my courtship period with hubby, he asked me if I know how to make kofta curry. Making a good kofta curry needs some basics to be done right. I believe if someone can make good kofta curry, then the person can almost cook anything.
I remember my first attempt of making lauki kofta and was not worth mentioning when the kofta became hard. Since then with trial and error have learnt how to make soft kofta and rich tasty gravy. I hope my learnings incorporated in this lauki kofta recipe will help you in making best koftas.
Method to make Lauki Kofta
- First of all, wash and peel Bottle Gourd and grate it.
- Now squeeze the water from the lauki with the help of your palms collecting the water in a bowl. Do not throw away the squeezed water as its full of nutrients.
- Heat the oil for deep frying the koftas in a kadai or Pan. Now in a mixing bowl, add grated lauki, gram flour , chopped green chillies, grated ginger, roasted cumin powder and salt.
- Mix properly and make round balls with the mixture and deep fry them in the warm oil until they are nice golden all over.
- Once these kofta balls are fried, soak excess oil by using kitchen towel.
- Grind the onions to a smooth paste and finely chop the tomatoes and green chillies.
- Now add 2 tablespoon of oil to a pan and heat it. Once warm, add asafoetida and cumin seeds. When they crackle, add onion paste and saute until its pinkish brown in colour.
- Add ginger garlic paste and saute. After that add all the spices except salt and roast the mixture for one minute.
- Now add chopped tomatoes and chillies and saute till the mixture starts loosing oil. Add beaten yogurt and saute continuously till the mixture starts boiling.
- Add 1 cup of plain water and also the water which we kept from squeezing lauki, and let it boil.
- Once you get the first boil, add salt and koftas to it and cook till you get the desired consistency of your gravy. Your Lauki Kofta curry is ready.
Pro Tips for making Lauki Kofta Curry
- Always squeeze the water from lauki properly otherwise the mixture would be of thin consistency which would result in difficulties in making koftas.
- Fry the koftas on low-medium heat. Otherwise, kofta would be cooked outside and raw from inside.
- Always stir the gravy after adding yogurt otherwise it will curdle.
- You can add dried mint leaves/dried fenugreek leaves to the koftas mixture to give an extra flavour. Just add 1/2 tablespoon of it if you desire to give added aroma.
This Lauki Kofta Curry
- Is a great way to incorporate bottle gourd in the diet. Try to air fry the koftas for healthier option.
- Tastes yummy (one of the best kofta curry)
- Gravy is restaurant style with soft koftas
- Can be used as main meal curry.
Serving suggestion
Serve hot lauki koftas with steam rice, or Indian bread like, chapatti, or butter naan.
You can store this in fridge for couple of days, and is suitable for freezing too. I will however recommend that freeze koftas only and make fresh curry / sauce when you want for best taste.
If you wish to explore other kofta options, you may like to try, cabbage kofta or my most popular recipe of malai kofta curry.
Recipe Card
Lauki Kofta Curry
Ingredients
For Kofta
- 500 Grams Lauki / Doodhi / Bottle gourd
- 7 tbsp Gram flour / Besan
- 2 Green chillies Finely Chopped
- 1/2 tbsp Ginger Grated
- 1/3 tsp Salt As per taste
- 1/3 tsp Roasted cumin powder
- 200 ml Oil For deep frying
For Kofta Gravy
- 2 Onion Medium Size
- 4 Tomatoes Medium Size
- 2 Green chillies
- 4 tbsp Yogurt Beaten
- 1/4 tsp Asafoetida
- 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1/4 tsp Red Chilli Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt As per taste
- 1/3 tsp Garam Masala Powder
- 1 tbsp Chopped Coriander Leaves For garnising
Instructions
- First of all, wash and peel Bottle Gourd / Lauki and grate it.
- Now squeeze the water from the lauki with the help of your palms collecting the water in a bowl. Do not throw away the squeezed water as its full of nutrients. We will use this water while making gravy.
- Heat the oil for deep frying the koftas in a kadai or Pan. Now in a mixing bowl, add grated lauki, gram flour / besan, chopped green chillies, grated ginger, roasted cumin powder and salt.
- Mix them properly and divide the mixture into equal parts.
- Make round balls with the mixture and deep fry them in the warm oil until they are nice golden all over.
- Once these kofta balls are fried, take them out and keep on a kitchen towel to soak excess oil.
- Grind the onions to a smooth paste and finely chop the tomatoes and green chillies.
- Now add 2 tablespoon of oil to a pan and heat it. Once warm, add asafoetida and cumin seeds. When they crackle, add onion paste and saute until its pinkish brown in colour.
- Add Ginger – garlic paste and saute again till raw smell goes off. After that add all the spices except salt and roast the mixture for one minute.
- Now add chopped tomatoes and chillies and saute till the mixture starts loosing oil. Add beaten yogurt and saute continuously till the mixture starts boiling.
- Add 1 cup of plain water and also the water which we kept from squeezing lauki, and let it boil.
- Once you get the first boil, add salt and koftas to it and cook till you get the desired consistency of your gravy.
Notes
- Always squeeze the water from lauki properly otherwise the mixture would be of thin consistency which would result in difficulties in making koftas.
- Fry the koftas on low-medium heat, otherwise kofta would be cooked outside and raw from inside.
- Always stir the gravy after adding yogurt otherwise it will curdle.
- You can add dried mint leaves/dried fenugreek leaves to the koftas mixture to give an extra flavour. Just add 1/2 tablespoon of it if you desire to give added aroma.