15 September, 2008

Dudhi-Aloo Masala: What's Your Favourite?

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Dudhi-Aloo Masala
6 months back: Mushrooms
4 months back: Bell Peppers
2 months back: Baby Corns
A month back: Fenugreek Leaves
At present: Dudhi/Sorekai/Bottle Gourd
Well, these were the vegetables which ruled our kitchen in the past few months. As I have a short span of memory, I can’t think beyond 6 months as which vegetables played centre role in everyday cooking. You see there is nothing normal in our household, ahem, except us if we can say so;) If we are to fall hard for particular vegetable, we end up cooking it almost day and night till we are tired of it. This obsession of our lasts at the maximum for 2 months and then again we fall in love with some other vegetable and the saga continues.

Our latest obsession is Bottle Gourd and poor gourd is undergoing various operations in our lab, err, kitchen for the past 2 months. Curry, stuffed, fried, chutney, dessert etc etc… you name it and we have tried them all and we are still in love with this unpretentious squash. What I love about this veggie is the way in which it simply compliments and blends with any other vegetable or lentils or spices and yet leaves lasting impression on your taste buds.

This time I decided to pair Dudhi with very much loved Tuber and cook in very delicious tomato gravy. Not wanting to cook with usual Garam Masala, I opted for Sambar Powder giving it a Southern Indian make-over. And it turned out to be one of the most delicious curries I have ever made. I chose to cook it in a pressure cooker to save energy as well as time and within no time this curry was ready to serve with Chapatti out from freezer. Make it in a large quantity as it tastes best on the next day when all the flavours blend well. Cook it little or more but cook for sure as this is one simple yet delicious treat which sure to please you and your loved ones. Off this goes to Lore’s Original Recipe event where she invites the bloggers to send your own creations.

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Dudhi-Aloo Masala

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Dudhi-Aloo Masala (Bottle Gourd & Potatoes simmered in tangy Tomato Gravy)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
1 medium Bottle Gourd/Sorekai/Lauki, peeled, deseeded and diced into 1 inch cubes
2 medium Potatoes, peeled and diced to 1 inch cubes
1 large Onion, finely chopped
1 can chopped Tomato/3 large Tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 inch Ginger, finely chopped
2-3 Garlic Cloves, finely sliced
1-2 tbsp Sambar Powder (adjust acc to taste)
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Kashmiri Chilli Powder (Adjust acc to taste)
1 tbsp Jaggery/Brown Sugar
1 tsp Tamarind Paste
2 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste

For Tempering/Tadka:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 Dry Red Chilli, halved
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida
Few Curry Leaves
1 tbsp Oil
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Dudhi-Aloo Masala

Method:
Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add mustard seeds. When it starts to pop and splutter add cumin seeds, dry red chilli, hing and curry leaves. Sauté on medium flame till jeera turns light brown.
Now add finely chopped onion, ginger and garlic and sauté till onion turns light golden brown, about 3 mins.
Mix in sambar powder and sauté it for 30 seconds. Add chopped tomatoes and cook till it turns pulpy, about 3 mins.
Add 3-4 cups of water, turmeric powder, jaggery, chilli powder and tamarind paste. Increase the heat and bring the water to boil, about 3 minutes.
Mix in cubed potatoes and bottle gourd and reduce the heat to medium. Cover and cook for about 12-15 minutes or 2 whistles till the vegetables are cooked to tender.
Once the pressure is released, open the lid and mix in finely chopped coriander leaves. Serve it hot with Poori, Chapatti or steamed Rice and enjoy. It tastes better the next day.

Notes:
Substitute Sambar Powder with 1- 1½ tsp Garam Masala for different flavour.
Same way, you can also substitute Tamarind with Amchur/Dry Mango Powder.
Replace Bottle Gourd with Zucchini/Courgette or Yellow Cucumber or any other Squash for different taste.
If you don’t have a pressure cooker, make sure that you use cooked potatoes instead of directly adding raw one as cooked ones will reduce the time in cooking. And also make sure you chop the vegetables to bite sized pieces for fast cooking.
This curry tastes superb the next day. So make sure you have cooked enough to have it on next day.

29 comments :

  1. wow... Duthi aloo masala looks yummy & delicious... new for me.. i will try ....thxs for sharing... Pics looks great & fantastic...

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  2. your pics are so huge and nice that i just want to grab a spoon and take some! really!

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  3. Never tried out this combo. Recipe looks spicy and awesome.

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  4. lovely gravy Sia .. I love doodhi .. but its not a favourite with my hubby, so i dont make it very often .. this gravy looks good .. N regarding the veggies playing a fave .. its the same with me .. the whole of last month I was hooked to eggplants .. I made everything i could thnk of :)

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  5. This is interesting. I would have thought 12-15 minutes would have mashed the gourd to oblivion but it seems to have held its own against the potato! It looks lovely.

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  6. My My..this will be one sure sought after way to have bottlegourd...anything that has potato with it,gets a thumbs up in my home....
    And i guess sambahr masala gives the curry a very distinguished taste....and i know what u mean when u say it tasted better next day..somethings just taste gr8 next days,one coz the flavors get time to blend,and two because it saves our time and energy ,as we need not think about next meal.....lol

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  7. Thanks for the visit and the comment ....

    That meal looks awesome!!

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  8. Mouth-drooling recipe.Love the colour.Will try it.

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  9. Thank u Srikar, Vij & Kitchen Flavours :)

    LOL, that is really funy Nags. how abt trying it with that sambar powder u just posted?

    Vegetebale platter, i love brinjal but in my case my hubby is allergic to brinjals. so i cook them for myself when i am in mood to cook 2 different dishes. u can simply skip dudhi and use aloo or replace dudhi with courgetts/zucchini if u like.

    it depnds on how big the pieces are. here i have cut them into large chunks and this they hold their shape very well. try it Sra.

    i cook most of the curries in good quantity so that it lasts for one or two more days. and yup, when the flavours blend well it tastes yummo. give it a try sometime Alka.

    hello David and warm wlcome to my corner:)

    thanks Sireesha :)

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  10. never tried this combination sia, nice recipe.. lovely picture.

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  11. Hmmmmmmmm!!!

    i like the look of it
    i dont like dudhi though!!
    pic looks tempting......

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  12. What an unique combination,very creative and this looks real yum :)

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  13. Thats a new and interesting combi of veggies

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  14. That looks delicious, Sups...haven't had 'paani lau' -that's what we call 'dudhi' ;-)- for ages.

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  15. hi sia,the colour looks great.and i never tried this type.thx for sharing such a sweet recipe

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  16. So u buy a veg ,experiment until u start hating it :( Poor veggies , they re suffering in ur lab...
    By the way, adding spud is great way to love the dudhi curry, nice twist of sambar powder too!

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  17. Hi Sia,I am Sweatha of Curryleaf and have just posted your Bihari Thali for Tried & Tasted Event.Thanks for sharing the recipes.
    The Masala looks sooooooooooooo tasty.Thanks

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  18. Hi Sia, I tried your Sweet Chilli-Lime Tofu and I must say that this is the best tofu dish I have had. We just finished having it for dinner. Thanks for such a lip smacking recipe.

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  19. looks delicious and healthy curry with rice or chappati...gud entry

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  20. thank you, Anjali.

    replace dudhi with courgette Priya and or simply skip dudhi and add more potatoes.

    thank u Usha :)

    paani lau, that sounds interesting. and does paani means water in assamese Suni?

    thank u Pavani. its one of those easy recipes for lazy weekends :)

    u got it Cham. u see i wanted to be a scientist and now i have become one ;)

    i am so glad u loved the recipes Curry Leaf and i must congratulate on creating such a fab thaali.

    i am really glad to know u liked sweet chilli-lime tofu dish Rajesh & Shankari and the credit goes to Lolo for sharing such a wonderful recipe with us:)

    thank you, Suma:)

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  21. Hi Sia,
    yumm...yumm doodhi-potato curry...I often make it but haven't try with Sambhar powder.Will give a hit soon. Thanks for recipe:)

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  22. i am not a fan of doodhi.. will try out ur version this time.. ur dish looks so delicious..i always love the pictures in ur blog :)

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  23. Your obsession with Dudhi is a blessing in disguise for me....i have so many new ways to cook this veggie which makes it into my kitchen every week. :)

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  24. Man! That looks just a vibrant shade of red. Lovely recipe. Good entry

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  25. Hey Sia, tried out your Dudhi-Aloo Masala yesterday nigtht for dinner and I am in love with it ! It was a welcome change falvor-wise and went perfectly with hot chapatis.:)

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  26. Looks great! I'm this big "new vegetable" thing so Dudhi is next on my list.

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  27. love lemon rice. and with peanuts....yummmyyyyyyyy

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  28. Hi Sia,
    I made your doodhi-aloo masala today and really liked it. It tastes great with Phulka roti. Great recipe, thanks!

    Anupama

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