Lauki Kofta Curry is a classic Indian dish that showcases the humble bottle gourd, known as lauki, in a rich and flavorful way. This is a vegan Indian curry that is gluten-free as well.
The dish features tender, spiced dumplings made from grated lauki and besan (chickpea flour), which are deep-fried to golden perfection. These koftas are then simmered in a luscious tomato and yogurt-based gravy, infused with aromatic spices like cumin, coriander, and garam masala. The result is a hearty and satisfying curry that pairs wonderfully with rice or Indian bread, offering a delightful balance of textures and flavors.
Lauki Kofta
Lauki kofta curry is one of the most loved foods inย North India. Those who don't like the taste of lauki or bottle gourd can try this recipe. Initially, I was also not very fond of bottle gourd, but gradually, when I tried various recipes using this vegetable, I started loving it.
This is also a meatless substitute for meatballs. These vegan meatballs are extremely delicious and nutritious, making this a healthy recipe. This is, in fact, an Indian version of the Vegan Meatball recipe.
Lauki, or bottle gourd, is a vegetable of the gourd family, and it's extremely beneficial for our health. It's rich in fiber; hence, this is a magical veggie if you intend to shed some extra kilos and tone your tummy. This is zero in carbs. Bottle gourd is highly recommended for diabetic patients. It's also the best substitute for potatoes for diabetic patients.
Ingredients You'll Need
For Kofta
- Bottle gourd
- Chickpea Flour (besan)
- Onion
- Ginger garlic paste
- Cumin seeds
- Ground spices - coriander powder, cumin powder, red chili powder, salt
- Oil - to deep fry or shallow fry
For curry gravy
- Onions, Tomatoes, Ginger, and garlic
- Cumin seeds
- Refined oil or vegetable oil
- Ground spices - coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala
- Fresh coriander leaves and lemon juice
- Fresh cream - optional
How To Make Lauki Kofta Curry?
Peel off the skin of the lauki and grate it with the help of a grater. Then, the most important step is squeezing excess liquid from the grated bottle gourd or lauki. After you grate the lauki, add a pinch of salt and let it rest for 5 minutes. This will help extract more liquid from the lauki or bottle gourd. Squeeze out by pressing them hard. You can use that juice in curry later.
Place it in a large mixing bowl. Add flour, finely chopped onion, green chili, ginger-garlic paste, and spices to the squeezed grated bottle gourd and make a soft dough-like batter. There is no need to add extra water.
Heat oil in a pan. Make small roundels of the mixture and deep fry them. If you don't want to deep fry, you can shape them as patty and shallow fry as well. You can also use the air fryer to make the lauki kofta balls. Air fry at 180 C or 370 F for 8 - 10 minutes.
Preparing the gravy:
Heat oil in a pan or kadai. Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds and let them splutter. Then add finely chopped onions and saute for 2 minutes or until onions are translucent.
Next, add the ginger-garlic paste and saute for 1 minute on low flame. Add the pureed or chopped tomatoes. Mix and saute for 2 minutes, stirring in between, until the tomatoes turn soft.
Then add all ground spices, including the garam masala, and stir to mix well. Add 2 tbsp water if required. When masalas are cooked well, they release oil on the sides.
Then add hot water and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for 5 minutes on low heat, covering with the lid. Add lauki kofta balls to the gravy and simmer for 2 minutes on low heat.
Don't overcook; the kofta balls are soft and will fall apart in the boiling gravy if cooked longer. Now add roasted kasuri methi and cilantro leaves. Turn off the heat. You can also add fresh cream optionally and stir to mix. Cover with a lid and rest it for 3 - 5 minutes before serving. Lauki kofta curry is ready to serve.
Let's make this lauki kofta in 30 minutes. Note that you can also save 10 - 15 minutes more if you useย ready-to-use curry paste. This simple Indian curry paste recipe is my mom's tip for faster cooking.
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Also, read Top 10 Vegetables for Keto diet. Read my popular and quick keto buttery garlic spinach and grated bottle guard, keto sauteed garlic green beans and green beans almondine recipes here.
Lauki Kofta Curry Recipe
Lauki Kofta Curry | Vegan Meatballs in Indian style
Ingredients
For Kofta or meatballs
- 2 cup Lauki / bottle gourd peeled & grated
- ยพ - 1 cup Chickpea flour or gram flour
- ยฝ small Onion finely chopped
- 1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste (freshly crushed)
- ยฝ tsp Salt or as per taste
- 1 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
For Curry Gravy
- 1 medium Onion
- 2 medium Tomato chopped or pureed
- 1 Green Chilli finely chopped
- 1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
- 3 tbsp Refined oil
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
- 2 tsp Coriander Powder
- ยฝ tsp Turmeric powder
- ยฝ tsp Garam Masala
- 1 tsp Kasuri Methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
Instructions
- Grate the peeled lauki and add a pinch of salt. Let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Then squeeze out excess water with the help of a sieve and muslin cloth.
- Take 1 cup of besan/ gram flour in a mixing bowl. Add grated lauki, finely chopped ginger, garlic, green chillies, salt, coriander powder and red chilli powder. Mix all ingredients well.
- No need to add extra water as lauki contains enough water to make the mixture moist.
- We need a mixture of dough consistency to make balls.
- Heat oil in a deep frying pan on medium to high flame.
- Once oil is hot, drop ball sized mixture into oil.
- Deep fry till the balls changed their color to golden brown.
- Keep flame in medium-high heat as on high flame the outer side will get over brown while the inner part will still remain uncooked.
- Take out the fried lauki balls and place on a tissue to remove excess oil.
- Take another frying pan. Heat 4 tbsp refined oil.
- Add 1 tsp cumin seed and let it crackle. Then add chopped ginger-garlic, green chili and sautรฉ till onions cooked translucent.
- Add chopped tomatoes and sautรฉ till cooked soft.
- Add all dry spices (coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder) to the pan and sautรฉ.
- Add 1 cup of water to it and mix well. Season with salt. Add crushed Kasuri methi powder.
- Keep it on high flame. Let it simmer for 5 mins or till little thicker consistency.
- Remove from heat once the gravy is cooked completely. Then add the lauki koftas (dumplings/ meatballs) to the gravy and cover with the lid.
- Once done sprinkle garam masala, mix well and garnish with coriander leaves and serve with any flatbreads or rice.
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Frankie
I so love Indian foods and I always cook recipes that I find online. This one is no exception because I'm going to try this on the weekend. I can't wait!
daintykitchen
Thanks. I'm glad u liked it.