LAUKI DRY SUBZI

Calabash, bottle gourd or white flowered gourd, sorakkai, dudhi, lauki are the names for this vegetables.  It is also known as opo squash or long melon, is a vine grown for its fruit, which can either be harvested young and used as a vegetable or harvested mature, dried and used as bottle, utensil or pipe.

They grow in a  variety of shapes, can be huge and rounded,small and bottle shaped or slim and serpentine.

It has got many health benefits hence you can include this vegetable atleast once in a week in your diet.

Lauki dry subzi

Let us look at the recipe now:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped lauki
1 green chilli
1 tbsp roasted peanut
1 onion finely chopped
1 tsp grated coconut
salt
turmeric powder

tempering

1 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
few curry leaves

Method:

1.  Heat oil in kadai.  Add the mustad seeds, when it splutters, add the cumin seeds. when it sizzles, add the curry leaves.

2.  Add the chopped onion, green chilli and saute till onion is translucent.  

3.  Add the lauki, turmeric powder, salt, mix well and cook covered for 5-10 minutes.

4.  If there is water content in it, keep the flame in high and dry it up.  add the grated  coconut and roasted peanut.

How to serve:

Serve hot with chapati or rice, dal etc. as a side dish.

Note:  If you want, you can add masalas of your choice.

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Few benefits are:  

1. Bottle gourd is rich in dietary fibre, both, soluble and insoluble. Hence, it helps in curing constipation, flatulence and even piles. It is also easy to digest.
2. It promotes weight loss. The vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre in lauki keep the body well-nourished and curb unnecessary appetite, especially if you drink its juice in the morning on an empty stomach.
3. Its fat and cholesterol content is extremely low.
4. It consists of approximately 96% of water and is therefore a great thirst quencher. It also prevents fatigue and keeps the body cool and refreshed during summers.
5. Apart from the iron content it is also rich in vitamin B and C, and helps in anti-oxidative actions.  It also contains sodium, potassium, essential minerals and trace elements, which regulate blood pressure and prevent the risk of heart ailments.
6. High in sodium and potassium, bottle gourd is also an excellent vegetable for people with hypertension.
7. It is a suitable vegetable for light, low-calorie diets as well as for children, people with digestive problems, diabetics and those recovering from an illness or injury.
8. Bottle gourd is recommended by Ayurveda physicians for balancing the liver function, when the liver is inflamed and unable to process food efficiently for nutrition and assimilation.