Suswaad- Lalita Ki Rasoi Se

STUFFED LAUKI RINGS

STUFFED LAUKI RINGS , with gravy

If I remember , I have never seen Lauki in the kitchen of my parent’s house , nor in my in-law’s place . I don;t know what was the notion behind , but Lauki was not in those vegetables that were added in cooking in any form.

After shifting to Hyderabad ,once I got to taste a sweet dish prepared with Lauki and I liked it very much . After that I started adding Lauki regularly in my cooking. In fact , in a couple of dishes of our Kerala preparation , I tried to substitute Lauki in place of Ash Gourd , when the latter was not available.

About Lauki I can say that it is a wonderful veggie , which blends very well with any preparation . Be it anything authentic or experimental..

So the other day I decided to go for THIS experimental dish.

“ LAUKI RINGS WITH STUFFING , WITH GRAVY POURED ON “

Ingredients

Lauki –½ of a medium size . After a little scraping, cut into rings . The middle part with the seeds to be discarded .

For Stuffing

1 big cup of Chana dal–Soaked in water for an hour

1 big cup of Sweet corn

2 Medium Tomatoes

2 Medium size Onions

2 green Chillies finely chopped

1 inch piece of ginger grated

2 Tablespoons of Garam Masala

1 Tablespoon of Coriander powder

1 Teaspoon of Jeera powder

½ Teaspoon of Turmeric powder

Salt -As per requirement

2-3 Tablespoon of Roasted Gram flour for binding

2 Tablespoons of Cooking oil

1 teaspoon of Ghee 2 Tablespoon of finely chopped coriander leaves

For Gravy

2 big Onions

2-3 Big Tomatoes

1 ½ inches piece of ginger

4-5 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons of Coriander seeds ,

1 tablespoon of Jeera

5-6 cloves

2 one inch pieces of cinnamon

2-3 green cardamom ,

4-5 Dry Red Chillies

Salt – As per requirement

For Tempering

3 Tablespoons of cooking oil

1 Teaspoon of Ghee

For Garnishing

Fresh Cream

Method

In a bowl take 1 Tablespoon of oil . Add 1 teaspoon of salt and half aTeaspoon of Turmeric powder . Mix it well and coat each and every Lauki ring well. Put these Rings in a Microwavable bowl , cover and cook them in a medium heat for about 20 minutes .

To prepare the stuffing ,make a paste of Chana dal and sweet corn . Heat a frying pa . put the oil and the ghee . Add Jeera and the bay leaves . As Jeera would start spluttering , add the chopped green chillies and grated ginger. Stir it. Add the chopped onions and keep stirring. As it becomes translucent , add chopped tomatoes to it. Next add salt , Turmeric Powder and all the spice powders . Now add the Dal- Corn paste and stir thoroughly . Cover it and cook it at a low heat for ten minutes. Once done add the roasted Gram flour.The details of Roasted Gram Flour is given with the recipe of “ Stuffed Parwal Boats “ ). Add the chopped coriander leaves and allow it to cool.

By the time , the stuffing becomes cool , start With the gravy ..Grind , the onions , Tomatoes , ginger , garlic and all the spices together to a paste .

Heat the frying pan . Add ½ spoon Jeera to it . As it sputters, add the ground paste and stir as it starts releasing oil , add the salt , turmeric and the retained bay leaves from the stuffing . Add adequate water to get the consistency of your preference . When it comes to boil , put off the flame and add the chopped coriander leaves .

Now start to stuff the rings . In case you manage to get very tender Lauki , you need not even discard the middle , but you may do the stuffing as a sandwich. Otherwise take ball of stuffing and insert each ball carefully into the hole of the ring . When all done , brush little oil over the stuffed rings and cook them again in the Microwave in high medium for 6-8 minutes .