Sweet and Sour Bottle Gourd Curry (Sorakaya Antu Pulusu)

We're staying warm this Autumn with comforting food like the dish below. It's got a little bit of everything and lots of flavor. 

Ingredients

- About 10" long Bottle Gourd (also known as long squash), peeled and chopped into 1" cubes

- Size of big lemon of Tamarind

- 3 Tbsp Brown Sugar

- 1/2 tsp green chili paste (or 1/4 tsp of chili powder)

- a pinch of Turmeric

- 1 tsp Salt or as per your taste

- 2 Tbsp Besan (Chickpea flour)

- 2 Tbsp Rice Flour

Ingredients for the seasoning:

- 2 Tbsp Vegetable oil

- 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

- 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

- A pinch of Hing (Asafotida)

- 6 to 8 Curry leaves (fresh or dry) - optional 

- A pinch of chili powder

Procedure

Soak tamarind in half cup of warm water for 15 minutes. Squeeze the juice using additional water. Alternately add the soaked tamarind into a blender, add additional 3 cups of water and blend for one minute. Then strain the liquid and remove the tamarind fiber. In a small pressure cooker, add the chopped bottle gourd, tamarind juice, brown sugar, turmeric, chili paste, and salt. Pressure cook for 2 to 3 whistles. When the steam is released, open the cooker and boil the mixture on low-medium heat. 

Add the besan (Chickpea flour) and rice flour in half a cup of water to make a sauce like consistency. Mix this sauce into the bottle gourd mixture to thicken the tamarind sauce and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes or until it thickens. Heat vegetable oil in a small pan, add mustard seeds and when they splutter, add cumin seeds and then hing and pinch of chili powder. Remove from heat and add curry leaves and then add to the bottle gourd mixture. 

Serve hot with rice and/or your favorite flatbread.  

Pamper Yourself With A Royal Dish

Did you know I have royal blood running through my veins? I didn't know either until I started eating this rich cuisine. You see, now more than before I have a reason to brag about my origins. I found out our cuisine is widely influenced by the Mughals. Their tastes varied from mild to spicy. Additionally their cooking had an unique aroma where whole and ground spices were infused in their cooking. I've noticed that in South Indian cooking, we use the same kind of spices to make our dishes POP. 

So I say to you now, come join me in my conquest of discovering new ingredients and trying dishes...oh and on your way, delight your palate with some "rich" food.

Eat like the Maharajahs and Maharanis with Shahi Korma.  

Ingredients:

• 10" long Long Squash, also known as Lauki
• 2/3 cup Frozen peas and carrots
• 2 Green Chilies, cut in half
• Handful Cashews, split in half
• 2 tbsp Raisins or Craisins
• ½ cup Evaporated Milk
• 1 tbsp Garam Masala
• ½ tsp Turmeric powder
• 1 tsp Salt, or as needed
• 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp Whole Cumin seeds

Procedure:

1) Peel the lauki and cut it into 1-inch cubes.  In a pressure cooker or sauce pan heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and season with mustard and cumin seeds. When they splatter, add turmeric powder, cubed lauki, green chilies (chopped), and salt.

2) Pressure cook or cook on stove top on medium heat until the lauki is soft but not mushy. Please note if using pressure cooker, turn off the heat after one to two whistles. 

3) When the lauki is cooked, add the remaining ingredients: peas and carrots, halved cashews, golden raisins, evaporated milk and garam masala. Cook well for 5-6 minutes on medium heat until the korma thickens.  

4) Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve it with hot rice, jeera (cumin) rice, or rotis. 

***Quick Tip: To add more richness to the korma, you can grind the cashews and add the mixture.


****We recently submitted this recipe for the Lufthansa: Flavors Of India promotional contest and received a generous amount of votes. We thank all our fans, friends and family for their support****