Lauki Kofta Curry Recipe

Ingredients
For Koftas
1 medium-sized lauki
4-5 tbsp of besan / gram flour
1/2 tsp of red chilli powder
A pinch of hing / asafoetida
8 tiny pieces of tamarind (optional)
1/2 tsp of salt (or to taste)
Oil for deep frying
For Gravy
2 tbsp of oil (just take a bit from the oil you used to deep fry koftas)
2 of onions, sliced
3 of tomatoes, chopped
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
2 tbsp of coriander powder
1 tsp of red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing
Salt to taste
4-5 tbsp of plain curd/yogurt
How to Make Lauki Kofta Curry
For the Koftas
1. Quarter the lauki and peel it. Remove the seeds inside and grate it fine.
2. Squeeze out all excess water and add it to a bowl with the chilli powder, salt, besan and hing. Mix well to combine.
3. Make small lemon-sized balls with this mixture and make a small dent in the centre to place the tamarind.
4. Cover it up and make the ball smooth.
5. Fry in hot oil until brown all over. Keep the flame to medium hot and keep turning to cook evenly.
6. Drain and set aside.
For the Gravy
7. Heat oil in a pan add add the sliced onions.
8. When they soften and start to brown around the edge, add the turmeric powder, coriander, chilli powder and salt.
Cook until the masala smells nice and is blended well with the onions (about 3 mins).
9. Add the tomatoes and about 1/2 water.
10. Bring to boil and simmer until the tomatoes are soft (about 5-7 mins).
11. Puree this mixture in a blender and return to the pan.
12. Bring to boil, and add the yogurt and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well, adjust salt and remove from fire. Don't boil too long after adding the yogurt otherwise the mixture may split.
Add the koftas into the gravy and let it sit for an hour or so before serving. We had it with rotis but goes equally well with jeera rice or vegetable pulao.