Saffron Trail

healthy vegetarian cooking

Nutrition, Vegetables

Dudhi ki sabzi – Bottle gourd in gravy

58
Shares

Dudhi ki sabzi

There are some vegetables that never make it to our favourites’ list. Most gourds, especially the bitter gourd for obvious reasons, and also the bottle gourd for being so tasteless. DH is absolutely a non-fussy eater but gourds deter him too. When I tried out an experiment with the bottle gourd for my lunch, inspired by what our friend in Bangalore had made for us, it turned out so good, that it was entirely report-worthy and repeat-worthy. I made an effort to spare some for dinner, and when I gingerly served some to DH, he said – “Is there more of that??”. That moment, the poor dudhi had recorded it’s place in the annals of our household.

I must give due credit to an Andhra recipe which our friend had shared with me verbally. Since I couldn’t recollect much of it, what went into this recipe, were ingredients thrown in by intuition, in my own approximations. The idea of dudhi in a thick gravy is her traditional recipe though.

Before I share this zero-oil, tasteful wonder with you, I must announce that a good friend Manasvi has started his own food blog called – From the Bachelor’s Kitchen. As good ladies we must encourage a man’s efforts in the kitchen, shouldn’t we 😉

DUDHI / LAUKI KI SABZI (Bottle gourd in gravy)- a zero oil recipe

Category: Vegetable, low-carb, zero-oil, diabetic recipe

Time taken: Under 15 minutes

Serves: 2

Dudhi ki sabzi - Bottle gourd in gravy

There are some vegetables that never make it to our favourites' list. Most gourds, especially the bitter gourd for obvious reasons, and also the bottle gourd for being so tasteless. DH is absolutely a non-fussy eater but gourds deter him too. When I tried out an experiment with the bottle gourd for
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • pinch turmeric powder
  • pinch asafoetida
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup water
For masala
  • 2 chillies red - broken into small pieces
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds heaped (white ellu)
  • 1 tbsp tur dal
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp saunf fennel seeds or (substitute with jeera if you dont have this, but good to use fennel)
  • pods garlic (optional) peeled 2
  • 1/4 Cup peanuts roasted
  • Coriander leaves for garnish

Method
 

  1. Recipe to prepare masala:
  2. Dry roast the ingredients - red chillies through garlic.
  3. Once the tur dal turns golden, remove, cool and dry grind in small mixer with handful of roasted peanuts. If you dont have roasted peanuts, then first roast peanuts separately as it takes longer than other ingredients. Grind to a coarse powder, keep aside.
  4. Recipe forDudhi ki sabzi - Bottle gourd in gravy:
  5. Heat 3/4 cup water in a heavy pan. Bring to a boil with turmeric, salt and hing. Add the dudhi cubes and boil for 5-7 minutes until the pieces are soft but retain shape. They may be some water left over, but do not drain it OR microwave for 3 min on high.
  6. Add masala powder to the cooked gourd pieces in the same pan. On a low flame, mix the cooked gourd with the masala. The excess water will be absorbed by the powder. Add a little more water if necessary.
  7. Check for salt and garnish with coriander. This dish with pair fantastically with chapatis or even dosai, may be even bread.

Notes

Notes:
You wont miss the oil at all here, for the natural oils in sesame seeds and peanuts give it a rich taste.
You can try this with any other squash or gourd, for eg. Zucchini.
Bottle gourd is low-carb as are many others from this family, this makes an excellent diabetic recipe as well as a low-carber's recipe.
You can use the saved bottle gourd peels to make a chutney by sauteeing it with spices and dried lentils, and pulsing it in the blender.
Source: Adapted from a friend's recipe
by  
33 Comments

Comments

  1. Asha says: May 7, 2007 at 2:01 pm

    Love that veggie Dudhi! Masala looks great and I bet it tastes great with chapaties.Thanks N!:)Manasvi is a guy’s name!Will check it out:)

    Reply
  2. Richa says: May 7, 2007 at 2:06 pm

    hey, this seems like a good addition to my evergrowing list of gheea variations 🙂 like the sound of fennel in any recipe, gives a unique flavor.thanks

    Reply
  3. nandita says: May 7, 2007 at 2:11 pm

    Asha yes, a guy! thats why HIS is in bold 🙂 Im making this again for dinner tonight!Richa- Fennel is a unique taste and can spin any old recipe into new

    Reply
  4. Sig says: May 7, 2007 at 3:34 pm

    Hmm… I am not a big fan of bottle gourd either (but bitter gourd I adore)… and zero oil too… But looking at that beautiful picture and reading that your DH loved it, you might have just convinced me to give it another try 🙂

    Reply
  5. Lata says: May 7, 2007 at 3:46 pm

    The fact that this is a zero-oil recipe makes me try that. I make lot of curries with Doodhi but this is the one I never made.

    Reply
  6. DEEPA says: May 7, 2007 at 4:37 pm

    Neat Presentation of recipe facts .Excellent …Have to give it a try for sure ….

    Reply
  7. Aruna(themistressofspices.wordpress.com) says: May 7, 2007 at 6:15 pm

    Nandita, U r back with Zero Oil recipe after the delicious cheese Cake!With a recipe this good, its been placed high on my “to do” recipe collection. Thx.BTW Check out blog. Thx

    Reply
  8. Aruna(themistressofspices.wordpress.com) says: May 7, 2007 at 6:16 pm

    Please chkout my new blog -Themistressofspices.wordpress.comThx

    Reply
  9. reena says: May 7, 2007 at 8:53 pm

    i am not a fan of bottle gourd either but love bitter gourd. i must try this. looks tempting.

    Reply
  10. Anonymous says: May 8, 2007 at 12:51 am

    Hi NanditaI am a big fan of your site.. . tried your dudhi gravy recipe just now.. smells and tastes wonderful!!!

    Reply
  11. Roopa says: May 8, 2007 at 1:10 am

    wow this goes delicious with chapatis. Looks very good

    Reply
  12. Vcuisine says: May 8, 2007 at 4:39 am

    Sounds interesting without oil. Will try sometime sure. Viji

    Reply
  13. Raaga says: May 8, 2007 at 6:40 am

    Incidentally, I made something with this too… very recently. I will share the recipe on my blog and will definitely try this recipe out 🙂 Bought a bottle gourd just yesterday 🙂

    Reply
  14. Anonymous says: May 9, 2007 at 11:17 am

    Hi,This is a really wonderful treat! I am going to try it tonight..Thanks for all your efforts with these healthy and yummy recipies.Kavitha.

    Reply
  15. bluespriite says: May 10, 2007 at 11:22 am

    Have to try this this.. may be will like dudhi after it 🙂

    Reply
  16. Anonymous says: July 20, 2007 at 6:39 am

    HI Nandita,Thanks for sharing such tasty recipes!! I have already become a fan of your brinjal podi curry & this is the new one!!

    Reply
  17. Anonymous says: February 11, 2008 at 1:53 am

    This looks like a copy cat to your recipe. Shame on them.http://foodatarian.com/2008/02/05/dudhi-sabji-lauki-ki-sukhi-sabji/

    Reply
  18. Anonymous says: February 11, 2008 at 2:58 am

    thanks for informing us..we did not intend to copy in anyway..the recipe was a submission through a friend..Its a new learning for us and we will be more careful in publishing recipes now..thanks for letting us know.Keep up the good work!!Regards,Foodatarian team.

    Reply
  19. Rajashree says: May 8, 2008 at 4:42 am

    Hi,Thanks a lot for the recepie…The taste is real good…..ThanksRajashree

    Reply
  20. Gardenia says: May 11, 2008 at 12:38 pm

    Thank you for all the nice things you say- I just got your reply 🙂 and thanks too, for making me want to cook again with enjoyment!

    Reply
  21. Debarati says: May 16, 2008 at 1:46 pm

    I tried your recipe this morning and wanted to thank you for this new addition to my recipe box.The curry (if you may call it so) tastes delicious and is fit to be served at a party. Thank you so much…Debarati Dutta-Cherukuri

    Reply
  22. ketki says: September 23, 2008 at 1:42 am

    hi i tried this recipe..but it turned out bitter..which me and my husband had to threw it away..can anyone pls tell me why?…thanks

    Reply
  23. SuniKrishnan says: December 4, 2008 at 4:59 pm

    I tried this recipe yesterday, I and DH loved the new taste of it. … Thanks a lot for sharing!!

    Reply
  24. Anonymous says: February 21, 2009 at 6:29 pm

    My DH has never been a fan on Dudhi so I rarely cook it but this recipe he really liked and said it has a high repeat value.I love the fact that its a zero oil one.Thanks Nandita for sharing

    Reply
  25. AnotherHuman says: April 28, 2009 at 10:34 pm

    Amazing. I just made it as “prescribed” ;o. It is delicious, Make sure you don’t let the gourd get mushy.

    Reply
  26. 123 123 says: November 25, 2009 at 12:59 pm

    Nice blog you got here. I’d like to read more concerning this theme.By the way check the design I’ve made myself Russian escort

    Reply
  27. Anonymous says: May 3, 2010 at 2:04 am

    This is a great recipe. Thank you. Me and my family enjoyed it very much

    Reply
  28. Deepti says: July 29, 2011 at 8:33 pm

    Great recipe my hubby loved it!! Thanks

    Reply
  29. Roshni Sangeeta Tandon says: April 11, 2012 at 12:11 am

    what a unique recipe. thank you!

    Reply
  30. nandita says: April 14, 2012 at 10:59 am

    Glad you like it/ Did you try making it?

    Reply
  31. Anonymous says: June 2, 2012 at 10:35 pm

    Wanted a different recipe for Dudhee.. and found your recipe .. My son helped me cook it.. hmm smells so good and tastes yummy.. In addition, I added a potato and a tomato too..and when making masala added little fenugreek seeds..

    Reply
  32. Maddy says: July 24, 2017 at 2:20 am

    Hi Nandita,

    I tried this recipe and it turned out great but can you tell me how to get the deep red color you got ? Mine looks pale milky.
    Thanks

    Reply

Leave Your Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating





AS FEATURED IN