Sorakaya curry is a tasty South Indian dish prepared using bottle gourd, a few basic spices and peanuts. It's a simple and nutritious dish that gets ready in under 30 minutes. This curry is both gluten-free and vegan, and perfect for a busy midweek meal.
This bottle gourd curry is also called lauki ki sabzi in north India. Among various versions, this one is the simplest, with few ingredients.
Here's a no onion, no garlic sorakaya curry recipe that's semi-dry and goes well with chapati, roti, paratha, rice, and curry. It's the perfect dish for a midweek meal.
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Onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, and coriander leaves are typically considered necessary in Indian cooking. However, this particular dish does not contain any of those ingredients and the best part is that you can use spice blends such as curry powder, garam masala, or sambar powder instead of coriander powder for flavour variation.
The versatility of bottle gourd makes it a favourite vegetable in Indian households. It's a vegetable that works well in both savoury dishes such as curries, chutneys and stir fry, and sweet dishes such as halwa.
Ingredients
- Vegetables: Bottle gourd and curry leaves.
- Spices and Nuts: Mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, asafoetida, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, salt and peanuts.
See the recipe card for quantities.
How to cook sorkaya curry?
Roast peanuts in a pan over medium-low heat.
Stir regularly and roast until they release a nutty aroma and start changing colour.
Let them cool completely and then grind them into coarse powder in a mixer jar.
Keep it aside to use later.
Wash, peel and chop bottle gourd into small pieces.
Heat oil in a pan or kadai over medium heat. Add half a teaspoon cumin seeds, half a teaspoon of mustard seeds, and half a teaspoon of urad dal and let them splutter.
Now add asafoetida and a sprig curry leaves. Sauté for a few seconds.
Add chopped bottle gourd pieces and mix well.
Now add half teaspoon turmeric powder, one and half teaspoon red chili powder, 1 teaspoon coriander powder, and salt.
Mix well and close the pan with a lid.
Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cook for around 5 minutes stirring occasionally just until the bottle gourd starts to release moisture and the raw aroma of spices vanishes.
After 5 minutes, open the lid, add water, mix well and put the lid back.
Cook until the bottle gourd is tender, stirring occasionally. It may take around 10-15 minutes.
Once the bottle gourd is cooked, add the coarsely ground peanuts and mix well and switch the heat off.
Serve piping hot lauki ki sabzi with rice or roti.
Check out a couple more bottle gourd recipes on the blog - lauki kofta curry and lauki halwa.
Substitutions and Variations
Spices: If you're missing out on coriander powder, you can use half a teaspoon garam masala, pav bhaji masala, curry powder or sambar masala.
Coconut, coriander: Add grated coconut at the end or a splash of coconut milk while cooking for a hint of sweetness. Finely chopped coriander leaves for extra flavour. This variation adds richness and depth to the flavour profile.
Chana Dal: Combine bottle gourd with soaked and cooked chana dal (split chickpeas) to make a hearty and protein-rich dish. Add the dal along with water and continue to cook.
Spicy: Increase the heat by adding more red chili powder, or even some chopped fresh green chillies for a spicier version of the dish.
Oil: I have used olive oil but feel free to use any cooking oil that you use regularly such as vegetable or sunflower oil, coconut oil or peanut oil.
Serving Suggestions
This bottle gourd peanut curry is an ideal dish to serve with chapati, paratha or naan bread.
Serve it as a side dish with steamed rice and dal.
It makes a great addition to the thali - rice, dal, sambar, rasam, tomato pickle, yogurt/raita, chapati and halwa.
Storage
Fridge: When stored in a clean airtight container, this delicious sorakaya curry will stay good in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Freezer: This is an ideal freezer-friendly dish and perfect on busy days when you are pressed for time to cook fresh meals. Make a big batch ahead of time. Once the curry cools down completely, divide it into the required portions into freezer-safe containers or ziplock bags and put them in the freezer for future use.
Defrost: Defrost the bottle gourd curry the night before you plan to eat it. Take a portion out of the freezer and let it thaw in the fridge overnight. Reheat it until it's piping hot, either in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Tips and Tricks
Choose the right bottle gourd: Select a young, firm and tender bottle gourd with smooth skin and pale green colour. Avoid those with many blemishes or overripe gourd.
Peeling and preparing the lauki: Peel the bottle gourd and remove the seeds if they are too mature. Chop the lauki evenly for even cooking.
Slow cooking: Allow the bottle gourd to cook slowly on a low-medium flame. This helps in retaining its shape and texture while absorbing the flavors of the spices.
Add Water: As there is no other moisture-dense vegetable such as tomatoes used, a little bit of water is essential to cook the vegetable.
Stir Regularly: Stir frequently to prevent bottle gourd from sticking to the base of the pan.
Peanuts: Roast peanuts first before grinding them, it gives a nice nutty taste and aroma to this sorakaya curry.
FAQ
The Indian regional names of bottle gourd are - lauki, doodhi, ghiya, sorakaya, sorakkai. It is called cucuzza in Italy and different parts of the world it is referred to as Kalabash, white flowered gourd, long melon, opo squash, bird house gourd in English.
Young and tender gourd contains tiny soft seeds that are edible but the seeds in mature gourd tends to be hard and must not be used in cooking.
More Indian Recipes
Kohlrabi Curry: a delicious semi dry curry made with a tomato-based sauce.
Drumstick Leaves Curry: a classic South Indian-style dry curry made with few ingredients and no oil.
Cabbage Poriyal: a popular south Indian style stir fry made with shredded cabbage tossed with coconut and a few basic spices.
Bhindi Do Pyaza: simple and delicious spicy Indian stir-fried okra.
Tomato kurma: a tomato-based tangy and mildly spiced curry that goes well with south Indian breakfast dishes and paratha.
KEEP IN TOUCH
Do let me know if you try this easy and simple Indian bottle gourd recipe sorakaya curry. If you like this recipe kindly consider rating it using stars in the comment section or on the recipe card to help more people find this recipe online. You can stay up to date by following me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram or subscribing to my Youtube channel. Or why not subscribe to my blog and get simple recipes straight to your inbox?
📖 Recipe Card
Sorakaya Curry (Bottle Gourd Curry)
Ingredients
1 Cup = 250ml ; 1 Tablespoon = 15ml ; 1 Teaspoon = 5ml
- 1 Tablespoon Oil
- ½ Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- ½ Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- ½ Teaspoon Urad Dal
- big pinch Asafoetida/ Hing
- 1 sprig Curry Leaves
- 525 gms Bottle Gourd peel and chop finely
- ½ Teaspoon Turmeric
- 1.5 Teaspoons Red Chilli Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Coriander Powder
- ¼ Cup Water
- 90 gms Peanuts
- Salt as required
Instructions
- Roast peanuts in a pan over medium-low heat.90 gms Peanuts
- Stir regularly and roast until they release a nutty aroma and start changing colour.
- Let them cool completely and then grind them into powder in a mixer jar.
- Keep it aside to use later.
- Wash, peel and chop bottle gourd into small pieces.525 gms Bottle Gourd
- Heat oil in a pan or kadai over medium heat. Add a teaspoon cumin seeds, teaspoon of mustard seeds, and half a teaspoon of urad dal and let them splutter.1 Tablespoon Oil, ½ Teaspoon Mustard Seeds, ½ Teaspoon Cumin Seeds, ½ Teaspoon Urad Dal
- Now add asafoetida and a sprig curry leaves. Sauté for a few seconds.big pinch Asafoetida/ Hing, 1 sprig Curry Leaves
- Add chopped bottle gourd pieces and mix well.525 gms Bottle Gourd
- Now add half teaspoon turmeric powder, one and half teaspoon red chili powder, 1 teaspoon coriander powder, and salt. Mix well and close the pan with a lid.½ Teaspoon Turmeric, 1.5 Teaspoons Red Chilli Powder, 1 Teaspoon Coriander Powder, Salt
- Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cook for around 5 minutes stirring occasionally just until the bottle gourd starts to release moisture and the raw aroma of spices vanishes.
- After 5 minutes, open the lid, add water, mix well and put the lid back.¼ Cup Water
- Cook until the bottle gourd is tender, stirring occasionally. It may take around 10-15 minutes.
- Once the bottle gourd is cooked, add the coarsely ground peanuts and mix well and switch the heat off.
- Serve piping hot sorakaya curry with rice or roti.
Notes
- Choose the right bottle gourd: Select a young, firm and tender bottle gourd with smooth skin and pale green colour. Avoid those with many blemishes or overripe lauki.
- Peeling and preparing the lauki: Peel the bottle gourd and remove the seeds if they are too mature. Chop the lauki evenly for even cooking.
- Slow cooking: Allow the bottle gourd to cook slowly on a low-medium flame. This helps in retaining its shape and texture while absorbing the flavors of the spices.
- Add Water: As there is no other moisture-dense vegetable such as tomatoes used apart from bottle gourd, a little bit of water is essential to cook the dish.
- Stir Regularly: Stir frequently to prevent vegetables from sticking to the base of the pan.
- Peanuts: Roast peanuts first before grinding them, it gives a nice nutty taste and aroma to this bottle gourd curry.
Nutrition
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Welcome to Flavours Treat. I share vegetarian recipes made with wholesome, mostly fresh ingredients. Every recipe has easy-to-follow instructions with process shots (detailed step-wise pictures), a short video and lots of tips to help your cooking journey. Read more
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