Khatti Lauki

As kids ghiya/lauki (bottle gourd) was one of the hateful veggies of the endless summer months. The amount of fuss one created when this was served on the table. The only thing that made it bearable was that it wasn't tori (ridge gourd) or bhindi (ladies' fingers). I grew-up and lauki remained blech. But then I got pregnant, and had to eat a lot of veggies that I formerly thought of as tasteless because of pregnancy induced diabetes. And voila, I actually started liking the way my friend cooked it. And again, it all went back to not cooking it till it was very, very soft (like one did at home, wither separately or as a part of daal, which I still don't care too much for), and experiment with all kinds of flavours.
Now, we have lauki pretty regularly and cook it with dahi (yoghurt). This is something I made last week, which I quite liked.

Ingredients:

1/2 of a small lauki/ghiya (300gms approx), scraped and diced into small cubes

2 med sized onions chopped fine

2 tomatoes

1/2 inch ginger, cut into thin strips

1/2 cup curd

1/2 tsp cumin seed

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds (whole)

1/2 tsp garam masala

salt and chilli pwd to taste

In a kadai (wok), heat some oil and put in the ginger, and the whole masala (cumin, mustard, fenugreek, and coriander). When the seeds splutter, add the onion and fry till they start browning. Add tomatoes and continue frying till the tomatoes turn mushy and the whole thing is coming together as a paste. Add the lauki and stir well. Cook for 3-4 mins. Add the beaten curd and mix well till the curd disappears in the masala. Add salt and chilli pwd to taste. Cook till the lauki is soft (to your taste), you might have to add a little water as you go along. The end product is fairly dry with the masala clinging to the lauki. Sprinkle with garam masala. Serve hot with phulkas.

This is an easy and everyday dish and the sour factor depends on how sour the curd and the tomatoes are. You might want to sprinkle 1/4 tsp of sugar to balance the taste. I have to cook with practically no chillies (and sprinkle some black pepper instead) but green chillies/more chilli pwd can be added as well.