Potlakaya Kura and a little helper

It’s been a week that we came back from our short trip to India, but nothing much is cooking in the kitchen yet. As with all the weddings, it was extremely busy and chaotic the whole time. I need another vacation to get some rest. But tough luck had to get back to work right away and with a toddler who’s half in Indian time zone and half in US time zone, and a cough-cold to add to the mix, it took us almost a week to get back to normal. But all in all we had fun in the wedding especially the little one and got to meet friends and family, which is always nice.

Coming back to reality and the dish on hand: I like simple veggies like sorakaya (doodhi), beerakaya (turai) and potlakaya (Snake gourd) that taste great with very little seasonings and minimum prep work, nothing fancy needed. But my husband is not a big fan of them, so I have to think of ways to jazz them up. That’s how this dish came about and he liked it and ate it without complaining, which is good for me.

Ingredients:
Snake gourd – 1 pkg frozen, thawed
Shallot/ Red onion – 1 medium, chopped
Green chilies – 2
Curry leaves – 6
Tomatoes – 2, chopped
Sesame seed powder – 2 tbsp
Red chili powder – ½ tsp (or more to taste)
Rice flour - 1tbsp
Milk – ¼cup
Salt - to taste
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Cumin seeds – ½tsp

Method:

• Heat 1tbsp oil in a sauté pan; add mustard seeds and cumin seeds; once the seeds start to splutter; add curry leaves, shallots and green chilies; sauté until shallots are translucent, about 5 minutes.
  
• Then add tomatoes; cover and cook till they turn mushy, takes another 5 minutes.
  
• Add the sesame powder & red chili powder; cook for a minute.
  
• Now add snake gourd and ½ cup water; cover and cook till it turns tender, about 8-10 minutes. Season with salt.
  
• Whisk rice flour into milk and add it to the curry; mix well and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Enjoy with rice or roti.
  

And the little helper I mention in the heading is my 23 month old toddler who gets super excited as soon as he sees me take the tripod out for pictures. He wants to set up the lighting, set the dishes (or mess up the dishes; like in the coconut rice post, I mounded the rice nicely and before I realized he had to put his little touches and off toppled my little mound) and keeps running around me eager to help. I asked him to hold the dish while I take the pictures, so here are his little helping hands.