Sorakaya Kobbari Karam kura (Bottle gourd/ Lauki Coconut Curry)

It snowed the whole day today. Winter is going strong and is not tired even a little bit. But all of us have had enough and can't wait for some warm weather. The roads seemed treacherous today with the snow sticking to the ground and turning slushy, luckily we didn't have to go outside because the schools were closed and the husband worked from home.

Also, luckily I had the ingredients for today's curry already in the fridge and that's what we had a cozy lunch today. I watched this recipe on a Telugu cooking show recently and noted it down to try.
It's a simple curry with bottle gourd/ lauki and spicy ground coconut paste. Once you have the paste paste ready, the curry takes a few minutes to cook. I usually par cook my bottle gourd in the microwave to expedite the cooking process. The curry tastes great with some rice or even roti.

Ingredients:

Sorakaya/ Bottle Gourd - 2cups, peeled and chopped

Turmeric - ¼tsp
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Cumin seeds - 1tsp
Green Chilies - 1~2 (optional)
Curry leaves - 8~10
Salt - to taste

For the Coconut Paste:
Grated Coconut - ½cup
Dry Red Chilies - 3~4 (adjust as per taste preference)
Tamarind paste - 1tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1tsp

Method:

• Make the coconut paste: Grind the ingredients for the paste using little water. Keep aside.
• Make the Curry: Heat 1tbsp oil in a saute pan, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once the seeds start to splutter, add curry leaves and green chilies (if using). Cook for 1 minute.
• Next add the bottle gourd pieces, turmeric and salt. Mix well, cover and cook till bottle gourd is tender, about 10~12 minutes. Alternately bottle gourd can be par cooked in the microwave for 4~5 minutes and then added here and cooked for 4~5 minutes more.
• Finally add the ground coconut paste, mix well and cook for another 2~3 minutes. Add more water if the curry looks too dry. Serve with steamed rice and dal.

Linking this to Valli's 'Cooking from Cookbook Challenge: March -- Week 1'.