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August 26, 2009

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.

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14 comments:

  1. Delicious kura, looks great..love those cute hands..

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  2. You have a sweet 'little' helper there. I stuffed some snake gourd to jazz up for hubby's fancy. this is a neat recipe to bear in mind next time around.

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  3. Hope you had enjoyed the wedding....the curry sounds gud

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  4. Wow... wonderful recipe Pavani... looks very tempting.. Awesome clicks!!

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  5. Looks great, Pavani. My daughter does the same too. Eager to help and wants to take pictures herself too. Nice to know you had a good time in India.

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  6. A different recipe, will try next time i am making snake gourds, thanks for sharing, looks delicious!

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  7. That is lovely recipe and very nice photo especially the last one. I know how it feels like when you go on a short trip, hope you get settled soon.

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  8. Thanks Priya. Those cute hands can create havoc in minutes too. :-D

    Hi Lata, Stuffedd Snake gourd sounds yummm.. Do you have the recipe on your blog??

    Hi Priti, We surely had fun in the wedding. Thank you.

    Thank you Chandana, Vani & Parita.

    Thanks Sadhana & Muskaan. I think it will take a while to "completely" settle down. Oh.. btw I bought some sprouted ragi flour from India, I'm going to search your blog for a recipe to use that in.

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  9. Looks very tasty and delicious dear:)

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  10. Nice click looks very yummy and delicious:)...u have a very nice blog liked the coconut rice a lot :)

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  11. Funny how vacations can be hectic... but that food looks yummy!

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  12. Lovely post and tempting dish :)

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  13. we use sesame seeds a lot too.
    the curry looks pretty awesome.

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  14. I tried the curry yesterday, i just skipped the rice flour(coz i dint have it :-)).... The curry tasted awesome... thank you very much for the post... can you post few more recipes with potlakaya plzzz..

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