A long delayed recipe is Lauki Ke Kofte.  This a regular preparation in our Classes, it won’t be wrong to say that this is one of the most cooked dishes of our Jaipur Home Cooking Sessions.  So lets gather the ingredients.

 

This dish is a great Vegetarian  / Vegan substitute for any meat kofta.  The dish is simple yet looks very refined upon completion.  I am making these with the local vegetable Lauki or Bottle Gourd— alternatively you can try making these with Courgette/zucchini. It has the closest resemblance in flavor and texture to Lauki.   

The process needs 2 steps.  First is making the koftas and second is making the sauce 

Ingredients & Instructions for Kofta

250 gms of grated bottle gourd (lauki) or Courgette.

2 tbsp of chickpea flour (lightly toasted in a pan for couple of  minutes) 

½ tsp ground fennel

¼ tsp turmeric

½ tsp chilli powder

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp garam masala powder (optional)

½ tsp green chilli finely chopped (optional)

Start by grating the bottle gourd and squeezing all the excess water just as in the pictures below.  Just press lightly to squeeze the moisture

Then add the spices mentioned above.  Mix well

Now add this toasted chickpea flour in the grated veg  and start mashing them with your hands.  Really squeeze the mix so that the chickpea flour absorbs all the moisture.

Now make small ping pong ball shaped koftas or any shape you like.  But preferably small sized like in the picture below.

Once all are prepared, deep fry the koftas well.  Each will not require not  more than a minute or two to achieve a golden color.  Do not keep the temperature on high, keep the flames medium high.

Finish all the koftas like this.  Now we need to make the sauce, just follow the link below to know how to do the sauce for the Koftas.

Masala Sauce 1

Once the sauce is ready and you are ready to serve it, immerse the koftas and simmer in the sauce for a couple of minutes.  Serve hot with Roti or Naan or Puri.

Enjoy!