Sorakaya (bottle gourd) pulusu

Sorakaya is also known as Anapakaya/Bottle gourd/Lauki. I remember my mom making sorakaya curry with milk whenever she made pooris. Anapakaya curry has lot of water in it and balances the deep fried pooris. I also remember my cousin who grows her own organic veggies used to prepare sorakaya halwa for me. Aah! I always loved it. But, here I am presenting Sorakaya pulusu - my mom's way. Some people also call this as thootlu(poke) pulusu because they poke the Sorakaya pieces 4 or 5 times with a fork before cooking them. My mom uses tamarind sauce for the tanginess in this dish. I've substituted it with amchur powder. I have been using amchur powder for five years. It is made from sun-dried, unripe mangoes. It adds a tart and tangy taste to your food. You can get amchur powder from Indian markets and the ethnic section of some high end grocery stores. Now, the recipe……

Ingredients:

For Popu/Tadka:

Oil - 1 tbsp

Chana dal - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaves

Green Chillies - 5 (or more if you want it to be spicy)

For actual Recipe:

Oil - 3 tbsp

Bottle gourd/Sorakaya  - 2 small sized

Onions - 3 Large

Aamchoor powder - 

Coriander seeds - 2 tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Red chilli powder - 3 tsp (or more if you want it to be spicy)

Garam Masala - 2 tsp

Cloves - 5

Cinnamon - 1 stick

Method:

1. Grind the Onions, Cloves, Cinnamon stick, coriander seeds into a fine paste.

2. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a pressure cooker and add the paste made in Step 1.

3. Fry this on medium flame until the raw smell of onions is gone. It took approximately 12 minutes for me.

4. Now add salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and fry for 5 more minutes.

5. Cut the Sorakaya into big pieces (don't peel off the skin) and remove all the seeds in it.

6. Add the sorakaya pieces, amchur powder. Fry them for 5 minutes on medium flame. 

7. Pour enough water and pressure cook the sorakaya pieces. Wait until the pressure is gone and then remove cooker lid. Transfer this into a serving bowl.

8. Now heat oil in a frying pan and add Chana dal, mustard seeds and cumin seeds and let them splutter. Add the curry leaves. Now pour this over the pulusu. 

Sorakaya pulusu is ready to be served with rice.