Amchur Lauki (Squash with Mango Powder)

Amchur (or amchoor), dry unripe mango powder, is something we always have on hand but don't actually use that often. This bottle gourd squash curry showcases it nicely.

Amchur Lauki

660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer (p.603)

Ingredients

• 1½ bottle gourd squash, peeled, cored, and cut into 5cm chunks
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 2 fresh Thai chiles, sliced
• 1 medium tomato, cored and cut into 2cm chunks
• 1 tbsp amchoor
• ¾ tsp salt

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add cumin and cook until they sizzle, turn reddish-brown and are fragrant, ~10 seconds.
3. Add squash, turmeric, and chiles.
4. Cook, stirring occasionally, until squash is well coated in turmeric and lightly browned, 5-8 minutes.
5. Stir in the tomato, amchoor, and salt.
6. Deglaze with 1 C water, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover.
7. Cook, stirring occasionally, until squash is tender, 10-15 minutes.

Lauki Methi (Bottle Gourd Squash with Tomato and Fenugreek Leaves)

A nice simple side dish curry, this has a long simmering phase but comes together very easily apart from that. It has a mild but noticeable amount of heat to it.

Lauki Methi

660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer, pp.609-610

Ingredients

• 680g bottle gourd squash, peeled, cored, and cut into 2cm pieces
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 large tomato, cored and diced
• 2 c. chopped methi (fenugreek leaves)¹ (frozen works fine)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cayenne

Directions

1. Put the squash in a bowl and toss with the turmeric.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add the squash and stir-fry until lightly browned, 1-3 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomato, methi, salt, and cayenne.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until fork-tender, 25-30 minutes.

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¹ Ayer reports that finely chopped cilantro also works nicely. ^Back

Dudhi Besan chi Bhajee (Squash with Chickpea Flour Sauce)

I have been slowly but surely working my way through the bottle gourd squash curries in the book. The fritters were delicious (if somewhat lacking in structural integrity and general healthfulness). The patra and squash curry sounded very promising, but turned out to be a bit of a letdown in the end. Not bad, just not great either. But this one... this one FAR exceeded my expectations!

I wasn't really expecting much from this curry. It didn't really seem to have a whole lot going on. Just a bunch of bottle gourd squash chunks floating in a watery sauce with only a bit of chickpea flour and a few spices to round it out. Doesn't really excite the palate, does it? But it was a relatively quick and easy vegetable side and it used up bottle gourd squash, so I made it to go along with a few other curries and called it a day.

I no longer remember what other curries I made to go with the squash. I'm pretty sure they were good. But this one stood out for just how deceptively good it was. I would definitely recommend it if you find yourself, like me, with a huge surplus of bottle gourd squash and are looking for a use for it.

Dudhi Besan chi Bhajee

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 700g bottle gourd squash
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-3 fresh green Thai, finger, or serrano chilies, halved lengthwise
• 1 Tbsp. chickpea flour
• 10 fresh (or frozen) curry leaves
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• juice of 1 lime

Directions

1. Peel the squash. Trim the ends and cut it in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds. Dice the flesh into ~1cm cubes.
2. Place the squash cubes in a pot and add enough water to cover them.
3. Add the salt and the turmeric and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the somewhat tender but still retains some of its crispness (~15 minutes).
5. Pour off 1 c. of the cooking water and set it aside. Drain the squash.
6. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
7. Add the cumin seeds and sizzle for 10-15 seconds.
8. Add the garlic and chilies and stir-fry for ~1 minute.
9. Add the chickpea flour and cook for 30-60 seconds.
10. Whisk in the reserved cooking water.
11. Add the curry leaves, sugar, cilantro, and drained squash.
12. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 2-4 minutes.
13. Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice just before serving.