All About Bottle Gourd(লাউ এর সাত কাহন)

Ingredients:

1. Bottle Gourd(লাউ) - 1

2. Cumin Seeds - 1 tea spoon.

3. Cumin Powder - 2 tea spoon.

4. Dried Red Chili - 2.

5. Full Cream Milk - 2 cup.

6. Oil - 7 table spoon.

7. Ghee - 1 table spoon.

8. Green Peas - 0.75 cup.

9. Shrimp - 12 / 15 pieces.

10. Kalonji(kalo Jira) - 1 tea spoon.

11. Garlic - 2 cubes.

12. Grated Coconut - 1 cup.

13. Green Chili - 1.

14. Salt - 1.5 tea spoon.

15. Sugar - 3 table spoon.

16. Turmeric - 2 tea spoon.

17. Daal er Bori - 10.

18. Cardamom - 1.

Health Benefits of Bottle Gourd:

Promotes weight loss.

Helps digestion and treats constipation.

Provides cooling effect to body, by replenishing loss of water content.

Treats urinary problems.

Treats sleeping disorders.

Keeps your heart healthy.

Reduces liver inflammation.

Process:

Peel off the Bottle Gourd, and keep the peels aside in basket.

Now cut the Bottle Gourd, in as small sized cube as possible. Put those in a basket and wash it thoroughly, and wait un-till all the water drains out.

Now lets concentrate on the peels, that we kept aside. Chop the peels in as thin slices as possible. Wash those thoroughly. Chop the garlic and green chili in small pieces. Put a pan on top of an oven and take 2 table spoon of oil in it. Once the oil is heated, switch off the flame, and add the Kalonji, Chopped garlic and Chili in it. Stir those well and switch on the flame again at mid level. Now add all the chopped peels in it. Add 0.25 teaspoon of salt in it and cover it with lid. Open the lid stir it and cover it again. Keep this repeating for 4 times, and then add the grated coconut in it. Then repeat the stir process again for 3 / 4 times. Once the entire mix is fried and dried to dark green - light brown, add 1 teas spoon of sugar in it and stir well.

Now your Lau er khosa r chenchki is ready. Enjoy it with hot steamed rice.

Now look back to the chopped bottle gourd. By now all the water is drained out.

Now if you want to keep it veg, then you don't need shrimps. If you want to make it non veg, then you don't need the Daal er Bori.

With Bori:

Put the wok on top of an oven. Once the it is hot add the bori, and keep stirring with ladle. Once the white colour of bori turn into dark yellow/ light brown, add 1 table spoon of oil and 0.5 table spoon of ghee in it, and keep stirring. Once the Oil & ghee is soaked by the bori, then switch off the flame and remove those bori aside in a dried bowl.

With Shrimp:

Put the wok on an oven, and add 2 table spoon of oil in it. Add some turmeric and salt in the washed shrimps. Add the shrimps in the hot oil. Keep it stir and frying, until those gets a reddish colour. Once those are red, put those in a bowl.

Now add rest of the oil, and wait to get it heated. Then switch the flame off, and add the dry rep chili & cumin seeds in the oil. These 2 ingredients are pretty much important for proper taste. Don't try to replace it with anything else.

Once the chili gets a dark brown colour, then switch on the flame and add the chopped bottle gourd in it. Add 1.5 teaspoon of turmeric, 2 teaspoon of cumin powder and salt to your taste, keep stirring. Cover this with a lid for 10 min. Then open the lid, add the green peas and stir it again, then add the milk entirely in it. Mix all well before you cover it for next 10 min.

Keep in mind, don't add any water, as bottle gourd itself release lots of water.

Repeat this stir and cover for next 30 to 40 min. Once the bottle gourd becomes enough soft, cooked and massy, veggie souls, add the bori, and other add the fried shrimps in it. Then repeat the cover and stir for 2 more times.

Grind the cardamom with a pestle. add this in the wok. Also add the ghee, before you take it out in a bowl to serve.

Your Lau Chingri is ready. Enjoy with steamed rice.