Lauki Kofta Curry Recipe (2024)

Lauki kofta curry is a delicious Indian curry. This vegetarian kofta recipe will completely change your mind about lauki (bottle gourd) and make you fall in love with it.

What is Lauki Kofta?

Lauki is the Hindi term for bottle gourd. It is also known as doodhi or ghiya in many regions of Northern India. Bottle Gourd is a thick, fleshy vegetable vine that grows in tropical countries. It belongs to the squash family.

In India, it is creatively used to make a variety of sabzi, kofta, mithai, or kheer.

Lauki Kofta is a vegetarian, gluten-free, fried fritter (kofta) made with a grated bottle gourd. At the same time, the curry is made with a simple tomato and onion masala. Lauki Kofta Curry is an easy and less indulgent alternative for rich and creamy paneer kofta curry.

It is a perfect curry for everyday Indian meal when you need something comforting with fewer calories and fuss.

Ingredients Required For Kofta

Bottle Gourd: A sign of a healthy, young gourd is pale green, smooth skin that is quite firm and blemish-free.

Gram Flour: It helps in binding the fritters (kofta). If you prefer, add a tablespoon of corn starch or rice flour.

Seasoning: Salt, Red Chili Powder, Ginger Garlic Paste, Turmeric Powder, Carom Seeds, Cumin Powder

Other Ingredients: Finely chopped green chili and onion

How To Make Lauki Kofta

Step 1) Remove the bottle gourd’s outer skin and white seeds/flesh.

Step 2) Grate the bottle gourd using a food processor or manual grater with bigger holes. Season grated bottle gourd with salt, mix nicely, cover and set aside for 10 minutes for squash to release all the water (images 1 & 2).

Step 3) Squeeze out all the excess water from the grated bottle gourd. I use a muslin cloth to tie the grated bottle gourd and squeeze out all the water (images 3 & 4).

Step 4) Transfer bottle gourd to a bowl add gram flour, onion, chili, salt, and spices. Combine well to form a thick batter for the koftas.Do not add water.

Step 5) Heat oil in a deep-frying pan over medium flame. Take a spoonful of kofta mixture and shape it into a small ball. Gently and carefully drop it into the hot oil. Similarly, shape and slide all the kofta into the hot oil. Fry over low to medium heat till crisp, golden, and cooked from inside.

Transfer fried kofta to an oil absorbent paper and set aside while you prepare the curry.

Ingredients Required For Curry

Onion Paste: Blend two onions using ⅛ cup of water to a fine paste in a blender.

Tomato Paste: Blend two chopped tomatoes to a fine paste.

Oil: I use flavorless refined oil to fry kofta and to make curry. You can use mustard oil, ghee, or vegetable oil.

Spices: Bay Leaf, Red Chili Powder, Turmeric Powder, Coriander Powder, Garam Masala, Kasuri Methi

Other Ingredients: Salt, Water, Ginger Garlic Paste, and Fresh Coriander

How To Make Curry

Step 1) To prepare the kofta curry, heat the oil in a kadhai over medium heat. Add bay leaf and onion paste. Fry the masala over low heat till it becomes light brown.

Step 2) Add ginger garlic paste, tomato paste, salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder, and mix nicely. Saute the masala over medium heat till oil separates or starts oozing from the sides of the masala. This might take 8 – 10 minutes.

Step 3) Add water to make the curry, kasuri methi, and garam masala. Stir to combine. Bring kofta curry to a boil. Cover with a lid and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes or until the curry thickens. At this stage, you can add cream. Mix it nicely and cook.

Step 4) Once you are ready to serve the curry, add the koftas to the curry and simmer for 5 – 10 minutes over low heat.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

My Tried & True Tips

Make sure to squeeze out all the liquid from the grated bottle gourd before making kofta else, they will not hold shape.

Always fry kofta over low-medium heat so it is fully cooked from the inside and perfectly brown from the outside.

Allow the kofta to cool down a bit before adding in the gravy.

Add the kofta to the gravy and simmer the curry for 5 – 10 minutes over low heat. The heat will help kofta absorb the curry’s flavor and become even more delicious.

You can add a cooking cream or milk to make the curry richer and creamier.

Serving Suggestion

Lauki Kofta Curry is a vegetarian Indian main course dish from North India. Serve it with chapati, paratha, or plain basmati rice for lunch or dinner.

For a complete Indian thali meal, serve kofta curry with side dishes like mint raita, shahi dal, chapati, and kachumber salad.

More Indian Curry Recipes

Paneer Curry

Soya Chaap Curry

Dahi Potato Curry

Shahi Soya Curry

Chana Saag Curry

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