Lauki Sabji or Bottle Gourd

I don’t usually cook bottle gourd or “upo” in tagalog because I do like to pair it with misua which is not available to buy here in India. Anyway there are many ways to prepare this veggie so I have tried this one since I have the ingredients.

About the health benefits of bottle gourd, well it has cooling effect because of its water which is calming, diuretic and so easy to digest. It is also considered that bottle gourd is good for balancing liver function. It is also a good treatment for stomach acidity, indigestion and ulcer. Here is the instruction of how to cook Lauki Sabji or Bottle Gourd.

Lauki Sabji with jeera seeds






Ingredients:

Small to medium size bottle gourd (the younger the better)
1 Onion (chopped)
3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1 tbsp. ginger-garlic paste
Turmeric powder
Hing
Chili powder
Salt
Ground Black pepper
Coriander powder
½ teaspoon Jeera seeds (cumin)
1 fish bouillon cube
oil


Preparation/ Methods of how to Cook Lauki Sabji

Step 1: Buy a bottle gourd which is young. You will know if your lauki or bottle gourd is young when it does not have hard seeds or any seeds at all. Cut the bottle gourd into half and then cut it again another half to make semi rings.

Step 2: Wash of the bottle gourd in running water. And place it in a bowl with water so that your bottle gourd will not turn brown or dark.

Step 3: Heat the pan and put oil. When the oil is hot you can now put hing, jeera seeds, garlic and then onion. Put salt and then turmeric in your onion and next is ginger-garlic paste, coriander powder and chili powder. It’s up to you how much you put on chili powder.

Step 4: After you have put all the powder ingredients, you can now put the bottle gourd, half a teacup of water and fish bouillon. Simmer for about 4-7 minutes and taste it. If it’s not yet enough you can add more salt and ground black pepper.