25 March, 2009

Lauki-Lobia Curry: Fascinating Sprouts!


Lauki-Lobia Curry

You know what fascinates me? Life! Life as an individual’s journey on this planet, that begins with birth and ends with death. And according to Hinduism there is one more life, its life after death! Sometimes, I could be too philosophical with some random thoughts surfacing on idle days. I don’t want to go too philosophical today. But sometime I am called crazy for muttering my thoughts loud in front of my family and friends! Let us not go into that part now and concentrate on my today’s musings ;)



Regular readers of my blog will know my love for Black eyed peas. Last week while washing the beans for another batch of Chavli Amti, I suddenly thought of sprouting them and using it in curries. I am among those people who can’t rest until they finish the job that they set in their mind. While the beans were sprouting nicely, I couldn’t help but compare them to the whole process of Life-Death-Life after death! Sounds silly or crazy or both? Didn’t I warn you in the beginning itself?


But think about it, all these beans and lentils usually go though two transformations. First one is when they are young and fresh. All those bouncy and fresh ones jumping and running around with high energy. That’s their first life as child, adolescent and grown-up. And then there is a dried bean, all hard and tough skinned, as if it is dead and can’t feel anything that happens to it. When you soak this same bean in water, it re-hydrates and as a result it’s all round and plumps up. Take these same beans and sprout them and what you see is another life formation! Plant these sprouts in soil and with in few days you will see small plants sprouting and growing and producing new batch of crops. Isn’t it a fascinating process? Give it a thought sometimes and you will know why I said life fascinates me :) Now, do you see the connection between my theory and the theory of Life-Death-Life after Death? If not, just forget it and jump to the recipe part.


There is no denying the fact that all Beans, Lentils or Legumes are good for us as they are. But sprout the same and they become one hot favourite thing to cook and eat at our household. Last week, I sprouted a cup of dried black-eyed peas and cooked this delicious Lauki-Lobia Curry. I chose bottle gourd because it easily absorbs all the flavours and doesn’t over powder the nutty taste of black eyed bean sprouts. But if you are not too fond of bottle gourd, simply substitute it with potatoes or any other veggies of your choice and enjoy its goodness. Cooked with very few ingredients, this Lauki-Lobia Curry is one delightful side dish with steam cooked rice or roties. And not to forget the fact that this Lauki-Lobia Curry is packed with nutrition and flavour! Lauki-Lobia Curry is my contribution for this month's My Legume Love Affair- Ninth Helping hosted by Laurie of Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska. MLLA is a lovely event strated by dear Susan of the wonderful blog The Well Seasoned Cook.

Lauki-Lobia Curry

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Lauki-Lobia Curry (Silky Bottle Gourd and Black Eyed Peas Sprouts cooked in mildly spiced Gravy)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Serves: 5-6
Recipe Level: Basic/Beginner to Medium
Spice Level: Medium
Serving Suggestion: With any Indian flat breads or with flavoured/steam cooked Rice

Ingredients:
1 medium Bottle gourd, peeled, cored and cut into ½ inch cubes
1 cup dry Black Eyed Beans/AlasanDe KaLu, soaked in water overnight, and sprouted (Sprouting is optional, you can directly cook black eyed peas in pressure cooker)
1 large Onion, finely chopped
3-4 large Tomatoes, finely chopped
½ tsp Cumin-Coriander Powder
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder (Adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Garam Masala
½-1tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder (adjust acc to taste)
½ tbsp Jaggery/Cane Sugar
Salt to taste

For Tadka/Tempering:
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
A big Pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
2 Springs fresh Curry Leaves
1 tbsp Oil
Lauki-Lobia Curry served with Steam Cooked Rice & Salad

Method:
Cook black eyed bean sprouts in a pressure cooker or on stove top till it turns tender. The beans should retain their shape and make sure that you don’t over cook it. Drain water (that can be used in making dough for chapatti/roti as it has high nutritional content) and keep it aside till needed.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds to it. When mustard starts to pop and splutter, add cumin seeds, hing and curry leaves. Saute till cumin turns golden red in colour. Mix in finely chopped onion and sauté till it turn golden red, about 3-4 mins. Add chopped tomatoes and cook till it turns pulpy and releases its juice, about 4-5 mins.
Now add all the spice powders (cumin-coriander, turmeric, chilli, garam masala and dry mango powder) along with jaggery, salt to taste and ½ cup of water. Bring the whole mixture to gentle boil and add cubed bottle gourds to it. Cook covered till bottle gourd is tender, about 5-7 minutes, stirring in between to make sure that the curry doesn’t stick to the pan.
Mix in cooked bean sprouts and adjust the seasonings. Add little more water if needed and cook uncovered for another 5 minutes till the bottle gourd is cooked thoroughly and all the flavours blend well.
Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve this delicious Lauki-Lobia Curry with Roti or Rice and enjoy.

Lauki-Lobia Curry


Notes:
Not too fond of bottle gourds? Simply substitute bottle gourd with potatoes and enjoy this curry.
Similarly you can chose not to sprout the black eyed peas and go ahead and cook this curry. Or use any other sprouted beans and enjoy this flavoursome curry.
You can also replace Garam Masala with any other curry powder (Sambar, Aamti etc).

44 comments :

  1. Never heard about this...looking nice...

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  2. I have never sprouted beans and this recipe will give me a reason to do so.
    Love the tip yu gave about using potaoes as here we don't get bottle gourd.

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  3. Now i know what you meant by sprouting them. they look delicious and healthy too! will try it soon:)

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  4. Nice Combination Sia..Electric Picture's...

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  5. beautiful curry...new combo to me. never experimented much with lobia except sundal(lobia with coconut curry)

    your dish looks very nice sia.

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  6. Again and again you are making me to fall in love with your pictures...Lovely ones..OMG, I have no words to say...Out of the world!!!

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  7. LOVED the pic of sprouted beans! Lobia and lauki sounds like a great combi, Sup!

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  8. The curry looks so yummy Sia, love the idea of sprouting the peas, I should try your recipe soon :)

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  9. Yay ! I am the first one to comment. Looks delicious and healthy. Will definitely try it. I just started a new food blog. Do stop by sometime. It is cookingbowl.blogspot.com

    Love your writing style !

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  10. i never tried lobia b4..but combo with lauki sounds awesome..

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  11. I have never cooked with lauki before must try out this recipe!

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  12. Lauki & lobia sound very nice together. I love such simple dishes. they not only add to taste but to nutrition as well

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  13. What a wonderful curry!Its nutritious n looks very tasty..Lauki n Lobia is an interesting combination..I will give this a try :)The pictures are fantastic,Sia

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  14. Wow... this looks absolutely delicious! Nice recipe! Nice click!

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  15. Congratulations on the great work you're doing here, you got a big fan in Mexico!

    Now, I've never seen black eyed peas here, they're either pretty hard to find or unavailable.
    But, having heard about them I recently brought some from a trip but had no clue as to how to cook them...

    Thanks for a great idea!

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  16. U made me crazy Sia wih these post! Is it wild thinking? or philosophy?
    A different curry should be great with roti!

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  17. Liked that u sprouted them. We had lobia yesterday.. but i made a spicy dal with all the other dals.. Lauki is something which i make with a lentil most of the time. now i am going to soak some lobias for they look really yummy just like that!
    Soma(www.ecurry.com)

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  18. I do like combining lentils or legumes with veggies to give some texture to a dish. This is a good combi Sia. Sprouting seeds makes them even more healthier. :-)

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  19. U r simply great..!!! just today i was searching for some 'Black eye peas' recipe.. got it immediately.. thank u..Sia..

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  20. That is one wonderful, healthy recipe....I must try and sprout some over the summer...no such luck at the moment when its still cold....thanks for a great idea, Sia.

    cheers,trupti
    the spice who loved me

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  21. YUM! Love the combo. Molake kalu is even healthier, good one girl. Enjoy! :))

    feeling better?

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  22. Lauki with lobia..tht too sprouted....amazing dear.Never thought this combination too existed.Love lauki,and love lobia too,so it goes without saying how much happy i am to know this recipe
    As usual the pictures are mindblowing, wish i could simply transfer some in my plate here via screen ;-)

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  23. Very nice comparision of life with sprouts. One of many quirks of my husband is that he doesn't eat sprouts. You know why? because he feels that we are taking away it's life. If we plant the sprouts it will grow up to be a plant, is his thought.

    The picture is really very good Sia. Have sent you a mail.

    Recently I posted a chocolate cake using bottle gourd.

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  24. Hi Sia,

    Lauki and Lobia what a perfect combination, right. I love the way you sprouted them, dear. Yumm. Picture looks great too.

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  25. I usually prepare lobia plain or with potatoes, vada's and sometimes dosa. never tried with with lauki. sounds delicious.

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  26. With sprouted beans - I learn something new everyday:) It is almost lunch time here and I am hungry for this!

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  27. Beautiful picture sia.....Great healthy combination...Keep it up

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  28. Beautiful picture...Great healthy combination.. keep it up

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  29. I have quite a thing too for black-eyed peas, and I can quite understand why you feel like waxing eloquent about them :) I have some bottle gourd sitting in my fridge right now, so this curry's something I'd like to try very soon.

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  30. Wow healthy and delicious combo..Nice idea of using sprouted beans.

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  31. Oh I never sprout them! I should so do it. I never plan my food, so I forget to soak them the previous day :(

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  32. that's an interesting analogy you drew with the sprouts, hmmm..u got me thinking too.
    But first, I have lauki and I just bought some lobhia, so am off to give them a rebirth..errr, I mean sprout them:)

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  33. Nice healthy curry Sia. Never made with sprouts with before. I'm gonna try it. Wonderful job on the Focaccia bread. I've been meaning to try it too when I checked Lolo's website and was hesistant as it seemed lot of work and patience. But, you did it. Way to go girl :-)

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  34. I love sprouts too. Haven't tried sprouting the alasande kalu though. Curry looks really good.

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  35. The curry looks so yummy Sia..lOVED the pic of sprouted beans!Nice click! I like your writing style! Nice:)

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  36. You make simple food so interesting....
    And the pics are great.....

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  37. Never tried this version. I always cook them with grated coconut. Thanks for such a simple recipe. I have never been to your blog but am adding this to my favorites now.

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  38. Hi Sia,
    Happy Ugadi to you. I know what I am cooking next. Your lauki-lobia curry. Thanks for the creative combo.

    Anupama
    http://mitholimdo.wordpress.com

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  39. The curry looks so delicous and easy to prepare!

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  40. I truly am fascinated by the sprouts,never knew about lobia sprouts until I read in your post.guess what?I sprouted these last week,was sure glad to have added another sprouts to my meals. The curry sounds super nutritious:)

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  41. I like this lauki-lobia curry recipe. these lauki-lobia curry are sure to taste great and are extremely nutritious as well. I am going to make it for the holidays when my kids will be at home. I'll be sure that what they are eating is healthy. thank you for shearing your post.

    Thanks

    Rumela
    my site

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  42. Dear Sia,

    I am a bit of a neophyte at cooking.... and will appreciate some help here:

    1. When you say medium bottle gourd, what would it's weight be? Or, how many cups of 1/2 inch cubes?

    2. Do we keep the bottle gourd seeds in the cubes or do we discard them?

    3. Salt - I know it is to taste - but how much would you put?

    4. Does sprouting enhance flovour? Or is that a health thing?

    5. If I have to cook lobia on stove, how much watr do I add for 1 cup lobia?

    Regards,

    Aseem

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  43. @Aseem Saxena, By default I think and post for readers who have basic knowledge of cooking and technical ability of understanding the way the ingredients work :) May be I shouldn't make such an assumption. So thank u for leaving a note. Now let me answer to ur query.

    1. I would say around ½ kg or 500 gms. Don’t worry if it is little less or more than the mentioned weight :)

    2. if the bottle gourd is really tender and seeds are tiny and tender to bite, then keep them as it is high is fibre. If not, just core the bottle gourd and discard the seeds.

    3. I usually use less salt in cooking. So for this recipe I would have used around ¾ to 1 tsp salt. Always begin with less salt and add it later as per your taste.

    4. I always find the sprouted beans much tastier. Again, it is optional and u can use them straight away if you are limited by time as it takes at least 2 days for the sprouting. And also sprouts cook faster than whole beans/legumes.

    5. I follow basic ratio of 1:2.5 of beans to water when cooking in pressure cooker. You can use 1:2 of beans to water on stove top and increase the amount of water as and when needed. Make sure that there is enough water to cover the beans completely.

    Don’t hesitate to come back and ask questions if you still have any doubt left! We all start with very basic knowledge or no knowledge of cooking and only after years of cooking we understand how we can balance the ingredients :) Good luck for your cooking adventure :)

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