Lauki (bottle gourd) ke Dahi-vada/bhalla

• Servings:
• Soaking time: 6 hours.
• Preparation time: 10-12 minutes.
• Frying time: 6-7 minutes.
• Frying vada time: 5-6 minutes.
• Soaking vada time: 15-20 minutes.
• Serving time: 2-3 minutes.
• Total time: 48 minutes.

In India curd (yogurt) is a versatile ingredient: it can use in many dishes as marinade or gravy, above all it is easy to digest.

In summer the cooling effects of yogurt make it hot sellers; that’s the reason I was pushed to innovate; the dahi- vada with Lauki and yogurt. Especially in Tamil Nadu, where I lived for 15 years; there are only three seasons there; hot- hotter-hottest.

Lauki (bottle gourd) and curd are cool in nature and good for summer; serve as a chat or with any meal.

Now saliva is coming out, I can’t say I am not hungry.

Ingredients:

• Urad dal (split black gram): 100 gm
• Salt: 1 teaspoon (as per your taste)
• Asafoetida: 1 pinch
• Baking soda: 1 pinch
• Ginger: 2” piece
• Bottle gourd: 200 gm.
• Green chilli: 1 no.
• Oil: for deep frying
• Curd (yogurt): 250 gm
• Sugar: 1 tablespoon
• Cumin seed: 1 teaspoon (roasted and powdered)
• Red chilli powder: 1 teaspoon
• Black rock salt: half teaspoon (powder)
• Sweet tamarind chutney: half cup

Preparation:

1. Soak urad dal, minimum for 5 hours or overnight, grind them and make fine, smooth and creamy paste with help of small quantity of water. Whip the paste about 5-7 minutes.
2. Beat the yogurt with sugar and salt. Keep in refrigerator.
3. Take the ginger and green chilli, chop into small pieces. Keep aside.
4. Peel off bottle gourd and grate the gourd, keep aside.
5. Take fry pan, put oil and heat; add chopped ginger and green chilli.  Stir and fry (keep it stirring otherwise it may burn); fry for few seconds. Add grated bottle gourd and salt; stir and cover it and cook for 2-3 minutes on medium/low flame till it is done.
6. Put off the flame; let it come to room temperature. Give the round shape as tikki (Shown as photo), keep aside.
7. Take a big mixing bowl, put dal paste, ginger, salt, asafoetida and baking soda. Mix properly. Now batter is ready.

Method: for making vada:

1. Take flat and heavy bottom fry pan, put oil in the fry pan and heat the oil.
2. Drop a small drop of batter, if the batter starts expending slowly it means oil is ready.
3. Note: if oil is more hot batter drop will burn, put off the flame and wait. If oil is less hot batter drop will not expand.
4. Put one tikki into the batter; roll the batter all around the tikki, as shown in photo.
5. Gently put this (vada) into hot oil. Repeat with remaining tikki and batter. Fry till it become golden brown in colour( about 3-4 minutes).
6. Take out the vada and soak it into Lukewarm water for about 10-20 minutes, squeeze out vada by putting it between both palms.
7. Arrange this vada into serving dish; pour chilled thick beaten curd over them.
8. Garnish with sweet tamarind chutney, black rock salt, cumin powder and chilli powder.
9. Yummy and delicious starter is ready to serve; it is also used as a side dish.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Lauki (bottle gourd) ke Dahi-vada/bhalla by Nag Ratna Sahu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.