Have you ever had Dahi Lauki? It is bottle gourd cooked in a subtle yogurt based sauce without any onion or garlic. It one of those healing, comforting Indian food recipes that you crave for, after an array of food indulgences. You can dip hot Chapati into this Dahiwali Lauki, relish it with steamed rice or if you are too tired to make any sides, then enjoy a bowl full of it just like that.
So delicious and satisfying in its simplicity. I like to make it on days when somebody in the family is in need of a wholesome and light meal, the kitchen help is on leave or on occasions when we come back home from a party empty stomach. Dahi Lauki is one such curry which has rescued me on many such gray days. This is one of those minimal effort Indian food recipes but high impact sort of affair that fits just right for summer suppers.
Since I last ranted about the Delhi summer in the previous post of Jamun Frozen Yogurt, the weather has switched gear. From scorching summer it has turned into a rainy spell. The shades of grey are hanging in the background while I am writing about them. Somehow I am incapable of anticipating how beautiful the surrounding around our house turn in this particular season: the sheer magnitude of greenery, the lightening bugs, the way the clouds look against the especially deep blue sky, and of course the damp breeze that tries its best to suppress the afternoon heat.
There’s nothing like it and no better time to capture each shade into the digital pixels. There’s something nice about the contrast of colors in the sky and the kind of lighting you get inside the house. If you have seen it, you will understand what I am rambling about.
With that, I’ll leave you with the Dahi Lauki Recipe. Learn how to make Dahi Lauki Recipe in few simple steps. For more such summer-inspired Indian food recipes, follow our Pinterest Board dedicated to such amazing summer recipes.
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Dahi Lauki Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 small-size bottle gourd lauki peeled and cut inot cubes
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 tsp Fenugreek seeds methi dana
- 2 tsp Ghee
- 1 Cup yogurt dahi
- 1 tbsp cream malai optional
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- Salt to taste
- 1 Cup water
Instructions
- Peel the bottle gourd and chop into equal size cubes.
- Heat ghee in a pressure cooker. Add cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds. Fry for a minute.
- Once the aroma of the seeds is released, add chopped bottle gourd. Stir to mix.
- Add turmeric powder and red chili powder. Do not add salt at this stage.
- Add water in the pressure cooker, stir to mix. Add enough water to submerge the bottle gourd but not too much.
- Cook the bottle gourd in pressure for 1 - 2 whistles over medium heat. Turn off the heat.
- Let the steam release naturally from the pressure cooker.
- Meanwhile, whisk the yogurt and malai together. make sure no lumps remain in the yogurt.
- Open the lid of the pressure cooker, turn on the heat, keep the heat at low.
- Now with a slow and steady motion pour yogurt into the cooked bottle gourd. With one hand pour the yogurt while with the other stir the curry.
- If you miss this step, yogurt will not be evenly combined in the curry. And one could see lumps of yogurt in the curry.
- After adding yogurt, stir for 1 - 2 minutes in a circular motion. Let the curry simmer over low heat.
- Now you can season it with salt. Turn off the heat.
- Garnish with chopped coriander. Serve Dahi Lauki with hot Phulkas for lunch/dinner.
1 comment
Nice recipe. I do something similar with Thurai. As usual love your pictures …….they are awesome !