Baked doodhi pakoda

      Pakodas... hmm... the word itself makes one mouthwater, carving for an deep-fried appetizer had along with evening tea or just as an snack.  The best thing about pakodas are that they can be combined with any sort of vegetable or mixed vegetable and establish themselves accordingly.  Onion pakodas are one of the famous snack item in chettinadu cuisine.  The easy-peasy ingredients readily available on any Indian kitchen had made this dish dominant.

    Though these are done on rainy or chill seasons, they can also be had in summer.  I had bottlegourd left in refrigerator, and decided to make use of it in pakodas.  And yes, baked my pakodas due to diet concern :) lolzzzzzz   But, what surprised me was that the  baking did show the same crispiness obtained on deep-fried concept.  So, why don't we put hands together and join to do an healthy, evening snack

Handvo

    Handvo is an Gujarati savoury cake with highly nutritious ingredients.  This cake combines rice and dal as its base and also includes bottlegourd making it an highly suggestable summer intake.  This baked cake is brown and crisp outside, but goes so soft inside.  Sadly, they can't be had alone, need green chutney or shaak.  Here I served this cake with khumb shaak.  Both went really nice.

Ingredients required

To make handvo flour/paste

• 1/2 cup raw rice
• 1/4 cup tuvar dal
• 1 tsp urad dal
• 1 tsp moong dal
• 1 tsp chana dal
• 2 tsp whole wheat
• 1/2 tsp rock salt
• 1/2 cup sour curd

Spicy and creamy bottlegourd gravy

Who said bottlegourd can be boring always with dal or some non-spicy gravy?? Try this flavourful and creamy gravy... u will be asked for some more   ;)

Ingredients required

To be sauted and blended into masala paste

• 1 cup finely chopped onions
• 2 cups finely chopped tomatos
• 2-3 slit green chillies
• Handful of mint leaves
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp Everest kitchen king masala
• Pinch of turmeric
• Half tsp salt
• 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

To be blended into creamy paste

• 4 tsp coconut water
• 2 tsp khus khus
• 1 tsp putane ki dal/pottu kadalai
• 2-3 whole cashewnuts

other ingredients

• 1 cup bottlegourd pieces, deskinned, deseeded and chopped into big pieces
• 3 tsp finely chopped coriander leaves, to garnish

Method

Saute ingredients given under masala paste and blend them after they are cooled.

In a kadaai, add bottlegourd pieces and masala paste, heat in simmer flame till bottlegourd gets three fourth cooked.

Now, add creamy paste and heat for ten more minutes, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with parathas

Rai ki doodhi (Bottle gourd cooked in rai paste)

Everthought of using rai (mostly used for temper) as an gravy base? Yes, this traditional oriyan dish was first introduced to me by my neighbour.  This has slightly punjent odoured, creamy and spicy base which is really worth a try!!

Ingredients required

• Two cups of chopped and deseeded bottle gourd
• 6-7 garlic pods
• 2-3 dry red chilli
• 4 tsp of rai
• 3 tsp of oil
• Halt tsp rai (to temper)
• Half tsp jeera
• A bunch of curry leaves
• 2-3 tsp of chopped onions
• Pinch of haldi
• Salt to taste

Method

Atfirst, make  an paste of rai, garlic and red chilli 

Then combine this paste with bottle gourd with haldi and salt.  Pressure cook for one whistle.

 Add temper of oil with rai, jeera, curry leaves and onion.  Serve with chapathi

Lauki ki halwa

Mostly bottlegaurds are done with cooking poriyal or spicy curries, but in north, they mainly use this veggies as an dessert, they use it in making kheer, halwa and burfi also, as for now i will post halwa here

   Ingredients required are two cups lauki (grated, squeezed to remove excess water and sauted in tawa till the water content evaporates), khoya half cup, cardamon powder, 4 tsp heaps of sugar, almonds as needed to garnish
  

 To the grated lauki, milk is added

This mixture is sauted for some five to ten minutes

 Lateron, khoya is added

After sometime till moisture evaporates  quite well, sugar and a pinch of cardamom powder is also added

 Now the divinely dessert is ready to serve, garnish with almond pieces