STUFFED BOTTLE GOURD

This Tuesday was a very relaxing day.I had lesser work in the office so I was very happy.... :D. I also got to leave early from office hence had time to do some shopping all in all it was a nice day. I bought bottle gourd this time , I have rarely heard anyone say that they like this vegetable however I genuinely like this vegetable and the credit for this , undoubtedly, goes to my mom.Her creations even with this bland vegetable was so awesome. The bottle gourd has various name calabash or opo squash or long melon or dudhi but its commonly known as Lauki in Hindi and Bottle Gourd in English.Have read about the healthy benefits of Bottle Gourd in a few sites so I have summarized them and decided to share it with all. HEALTH BENEFITS : --> Bottle Gourd has attracted a lot of attention due to its importance in treatment of Blood Pressure and Heart disease. --> Bottle gourd is very valuable in treating urinary disorders.  --> This vegetable is very good for balancing liver function. It is often recommended by ayurvedic physicians when the liver is inflamed. --> Ayurveda suggests Bottle gourd juice once daily in the early morning for treating Graying Hair. --> Mixture of bottle gourd juice a sesame oil acts as an effective medicine for insomnia. --> The bitter variety is prescribed as a cardiac tonic, as an antidote to poisoning and for alleviating bronchitis, cough, asthma affections. --> The dietary fiber present in the bottle gourd makes it a very useful vegetable in preventing digestive disorders such as constipation, flatulence, and piles. --> Bottle gourd juice is also considered to be beneficial in insanity, epilepsy, and other nervous diseases. Well forgetting about the healthy aspect I had prepared an deep-fried appetizer with bottle gourd , its called Stuffed Bottle Gourd and it tastes very good with some spicy tomato chutney :)

Bottle Gourd (Lauki)	1 number(500 gms)
Onion	1 medium-sized
Garlic	3 medium-sized cloves
Ginger	20 gms
Paneer(Cottage Cheese)	100 gms
Potatoes	2 medium sized
Red Chilli Powder	1 tablespoon
Turmeric Powder	Half tablespoon
Cumin Powder	Half tablespoon
Lemon	1 piece
Raisins	1 Tablespoon
Cashew nut	3-4 numbers
Vegetable Oil	Half cup
Salt	As per taste

FOR BATTER
Gram Flour	1/2 cup
Flour(Maida)	1/2 cup
Corn Flour	1 tablespoon
Baking Powder	2 tablespoon
Red Chili Powder	1 tablespoon
Turmeric Powder	Half tablespoon
Oregano	1 tablespoon
Dried Basil	1 tablespoon

   STUFFING THE BOTTLE GOURD:-

1. Peel the top skin of the bottle gourd and cut off the ends.
2. Heat water in a rice cooker with a teaspoon of salt and add the bottle gourd. Let it boil till the gourd becomes soft. Generally one whistle of the rice cooker is enough ,if the gourd is fresh, to cook the gourd to the required limit.
3. Remove the soften gourd from the cooker and scoop out the inside pulp of the gourd and keep it aside.
4. Place the hollowed gourd in the cold water so that the green color is maintained.
5. Finely chop the onions, garlic and ginger . Separately chop the raisins and cashew nut as finely as possible.
6. Boil the potatoes in  the rice cooker till they become very soft and then mash them.
7. Mash the scooped pulp and mix well with mashed potatoes. Mash the paneer separately.
8. Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped onions.
9. As the onions turn translucent, add in the ginger and garlic. Cook till the color turn light brown.
10. Add the mashed pulp and potato mixture and cook for 7-8 minutes.
11. Add the mashed panner and cook this the moister is all soaked up.
12. Add the red chilli powder and turmeric powder and cook till the spices are properly incorporated in the mashed mixture.
13. Just 2 min before removing the pan from pan , add the cashew nut and rasins and let it cool slightly.
14. Remove the hollowed out gourd from cold water and cut it into small rings and pat it dry using a paper towel.
15. Stuff the mashed and cooked mixture in the bottle gourd rings.

PREPARING THE STUFFED GOURD FOR FRYING:-

1. In a deep bowl , mix together all the batter ingredients using cold water. See the the batter is not very thin.
2. Soak the stuffed bottle gourd in the batter .
3. Heat oil in a deep-dish pan and deep fry the stuffed gourds till the turn brown from all sides.
4. Remove the fried stuffed gourd in a paper towel so that the excess oil is soaked by the towel.
5. The Stuffed Bottle Gourd is ready to be served with the Spicy Tomato Chutney :) .

The same can be done by cooking them in a oven, but my oven was not working so I had to fry them :)  .