To my mother’s delight, even as kids, my sister and I were never fussy eaters. We happily ate all the fruits and vegetables (all includes vegetables like bitter gourd and bottle gourd too). I know it’s not normal but it was definitely a blessing for our parents. I know many adults who are very choosy when it comes to eating vegetables and don’t even consider veggies like bitter gourd, bottle gourd, apple gourd, etc as something edible. However, there are many interesting Indian recipes using these vegetables which completely transform their taste and texture. These recipes must have been invented by the ancient mothers who wanted to trick their kids into eating vegetables. Today’s recipe is one such dish – lauki ke kofte which has bottle gourd in it but in a very tasty form. I personally prefer having simple lauki ki sabzi (bottle gourd curry) in my daily meal as it’s easier to make and healthier too but on special days I make kofte.
What is kofta?
Kofta is a dish similar to meatballs which is eaten in many countries of the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, Greece, Cyprus, North Africa, and Spain. The name and recipe of Kofta may be slightly different in each of these countries Unlike meatballs, kofta can be vegetarian too and you will find different vegetarian versions of kofta in India, Greece, and Cyprus. It’s said that the origin of Kofta is in Persia and from there it traveled to the Arab world who further took it to the other parts of the world.
Serving suggestions
Every Kofta can be enjoyed with gravy in the main course or in the dry form as a snack. Whenever I make this kofta curry, I always keep some dry koftas aside for enjoying them as a snack later and they taste delicious. You can serve lauki ke kofte with steamed rice, jeera rice, even Indian bread like roti or paratha. It goes well with everything. Just serve some Kachumder salad or raita like pahadi raita, aloo raita, or beetroot raita and your complete healthy meat-free Indian meal is ready.
Tips and tricks
A lot of people struggle to get the perfect gravy in kofta curry. If you follow the following two steps you will always get a nice thick kofta gravy:
Preparing in advance
Though I prefer making everything fresh a lot of my readers ask for suggestions to make the recipes in advance so this tip is for them. If you are planning to make this curry for a special event and want to do some preparation in advance to avoid a last-minute rush, make the koftas in advance and freeze them. The day you want to enjoy it, just make the gravy and add the frozen dumplings to it. Let the curry simmer for a few minutes and your Lauki ke kofte is ready!
More vegan curries
If you love Indian curries and looking for vegan curry recipes then don’t miss to check the following recipes:
More Vegetable recipes
Do you want to eat add more vegetables to your diet but in a tasty way, the following easy vegetable recipes might be useful for you: If you liked this recipe, please leave a star rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in the recipe card below. You can also follow me on Instagram, Youtube, and Pinterest.
How to Make Lauki ke Kofte?
Recipe
