Ghiye ka Kofta

Ghiye ka Kofta

There are  times when  most of the vegetable market is flooded with  ghiya or lauki—Bottle gourd in English and shorakkai is Tamil.  That is the  best time to enjoy  making and eating dishes out of  the vegetable that can be bottle shaped or even round . 

Bottle Gourd(picture from the net)

On the death anniversary of my grand father, my Perima who is no more served a  delicious halwa  on the yelai—the banana leaf – as we sat on the floor for a ritualistic meal.

How did you make it? I asked, many, many years ago. She told me she would tell me later as she was busy.

Behind closed doors a while later, the ladywho had travelled the world many times, said it was made of shorakkai, and swore me into secrecy. Why, I asked. She told me the reason, a very discriminatory one, which I am not going to narrate here.

For   cultural reasons that are very difficult to get people to drop,  this vegetable is never cooked in my parents’ home—or those of my grandparents , both paternal and maternal.

But my Punjabi mother-in-law made raita and kofta with ghiya, and both are popular dishes in north India.

I made ghiye ka kofta the other day. Here goes the receipe.

Ingredients

Ghiya-Besan mix

Gravy simmers as Koftas are fried

Partly microwaved koftas

For the Koftas:

Ghiya, grated –2 cups

Besan—a huge ladel ful

Salt to taste

Chilli power- half a teaspoon

Ajwain-half a teaspoon

Hing –a pinch

Cooking soda-a pinch

Oil to deep fry(I used refined sunflower)

For the gravy:

Tomatoes-3 medium sized

Onions-2 medium sized

Ginger- a one inch pinch

Garlic(optional)

For garnish

Coarse powder of roasted dhania and jeera, Fresh green coriander

Do not  squeeze the water out of the grated ghiya, it is loaded with stuff beneficial to your health. Mix all the ingredients for the kofta, without  any water.

Make balls, never mind if they are flat, and deep fry, drain oil.

Chop the onions, tomatoes, and add the ginger,garlic, into the jar of a mixer, and make a puree out of them.

In a frying pan, add a teaspoon of oil.When  it gets hot, pour the puree, add a spoon of  chilli powder and salt to taste. Add water if necessary. Let it cook for ten minutes on low flame, till the gravy thickens.

Pour the gravy over the koftas. Garnish with the dhania-jeera power and fresh coriander.

PS: Since I like it to be Ghiye ka kofta rather than Besan ka kofta, I  add  minimum besan. If the ghiya is very watery, I pour out ladels of the “batter” onto a plate, microwave them for a couple of minutes, so that they bind. Then deep fry them.

But I have a  health-freak friend who simply microwaves  or steams the Koftas in idli moulds!

These koftas work just as well  as pakoras in Kadhi!

Serve with rice or roti/paranthas.

Photos by Pramod Pushkarna/Images India