Lau Bhaji – Bottlegourd Bhaji

The lau or the bottle gourd (calabash) is a very versatile vegetable of the Bangladesh kitchen. This would be fairly common in the sumer months when various kinds of gourds are aplenty. Rummaging through the fridge, I came across half of a gourd that I had set aside. The other half went into a shrimp dish (recipe to follow anon). This half needed to be dealt with quickly and I decided to cook up a simple but tasty traditional bhaji.

Lau Bhaji - Gourd Bhaji

Ingredients

• 1 medium lau or bottle gourd
• 2 tsp whole cumin seeds
• 2 green chillies, slit into halves lengthwise
• 1 inch finely chopped  fresh ginger
• 1 clove of finely chopped garlic
• 1/2 tspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 tspoon coriander powder
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/4 cilantro finely choppes
• salt to taste

Steps

1. Peel and then slice the gourd into very thin slices
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan
3. When hot, add the cumin seeds and the green chillies, until the seeds start to splutter
4. Add the  in the ginger and stir fry for a minute or two
5. Add the gourd, give it  a stir and then cook covered over medium head for about 5 minutes
6. Add turmeric  powder, coriander  powder, salt and 1/4 cup of water and mix everything up
7. Cook another 5 minutes or until the gourd is tender
8. Add he chopped cilantro and serve