

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
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
Instructions
- Recipe to prepare masala:
- Dry roast the ingredients - red chillies through garlic.
- 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.
- Recipe forDudhi ki sabzi - Bottle gourd in gravy:
- 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.
- 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.
- Check for salt and garnish with coriander. This dish with pair fantastically with chapatis or even dosai, may be even bread.
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:)
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
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
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 🙂
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.
Neat Presentation of recipe facts .Excellent …Have to give it a try for sure ….
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
Please chkout my new blog -Themistressofspices.wordpress.comThx
i am not a fan of bottle gourd either but love bitter gourd. i must try this. looks tempting.
Hi NanditaI am a big fan of your site.. . tried your dudhi gravy recipe just now.. smells and tastes wonderful!!!
wow this goes delicious with chapatis. Looks very good
Sounds interesting without oil. Will try sometime sure. Viji
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 🙂
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.
Have to try this this.. may be will like dudhi after it 🙂
HI Nandita,Thanks for sharing such tasty recipes!! I have already become a fan of your brinjal podi curry & this is the new one!!
This looks like a copy cat to your recipe. Shame on them.http://foodatarian.com/2008/02/05/dudhi-sabji-lauki-ki-sukhi-sabji/
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.
Hi,Thanks a lot for the recepie…The taste is real good…..ThanksRajashree
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!
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
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
I tried this recipe yesterday, I and DH loved the new taste of it. … Thanks a lot for sharing!!
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
Amazing. I just made it as “prescribed” ;o. It is delicious, Make sure you don’t let the gourd get mushy.
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This is a great recipe. Thank you. Me and my family enjoyed it very much
Great recipe my hubby loved it!! Thanks
what a unique recipe. thank you!
Glad you like it/ Did you try making it?
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..
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
That’s all to do with the red chillies used – Bedgi variety gives good colour