Lauki all the way

The delightful and easy to prepare lauki ke tikke are refreshingly light

LAUKI, dear old bottle gourd, is seldom given its due. It’s usually prescribed for those with a weak digestion or on a desperate weightloss diet. Except for the Kashmiri dum ki lauki or Awadhi lauki laziz musallam, there aren’t many recipes that stir up excitement. 

There was a time when lauki ke kofte were a rage but malai-paneer-palak trio creations has rendered them all but extinct. Of course, lau chingrhi in Sonar Bangal retains a die-hard following but that’s not a vegetarian dish. Quite a few people like it in chana dal but there again it’s not an equal partner in culinary jugalbandi. And lauki ke lachche is a superb but rarely encountered sweet.

Among its squash cousins, even torai and sitaphal stir up more excitement. True, we were once treated right royally and literally in this case to aal ke shoole by Arvind Singh Ji Mewar in Udaipur but in that case the atmospherics were overpowering the spicing.

Lauki ke tikke are inspired by that Rajasthani classic but chart an independent course. They remain more loyal to the Punjabi tikka tradition. We aren’t complaining as the recipe enriches the shakahari finger food repertoire admirably — it’s a quick fix, refreshingly light and quite a delight.

Lauki  ke  Tikke

Ingredients
 Lauki (small, tender gourd) 500g

Dahi 50 ml

Ginger-garlic paste 1 tbsp

Cumin powder 1 tsp

Kashmiri red chilli powder 1 tsp

Dried ginger powder ½ tsp

Dried mint powder ½ tsp

Clove powder ¼ tsp

Cinnamon powder ¼ tsp

Cardamom powder ¼ tsp

Pepper powder ¼ tsp

A pinch of black rock salt

Salt to taste

Oil to deep-fry

Method
 Peal the lauki. Core it and then cut in large bite-sized chunks. Mix the garlic ginger paste with dahi and stir in the cumin and red chilli powders, along with salt, and keep aside for 10 minutes. Remove and drain excess marinade. Heat oil in a thick-bottomed pan and deep-fry the lauki chunks for about one minute. They should just change colour and become crisp on the outside. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain excess oil. Blend the dried powders to prepare the sprinkling masala. Drizzle on the tikka and serve hot. If you prefer a drier tikka, you can finish them on a pre-heated tawa. You can pair these with hot phulka as a sabzi as well.





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