Sorakaya Pulusu Koora (Bottle Gourd in a Tangy Gravy)

Whenever I buy bottle gourd I always make this yummy dish. This is one of our favorite dishes to eat with rice/chapathis. 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Bottle Gourd pieces (Sorakaya Mukkalu)
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 1 Tomato, chopped
• 1 tsp Tamarind pulp or a small lemon sized Tamarind
• 3 or 4 green chilies or chili powder
• A pinch of Turmeric
• A pinch of Asafetida (Inguva, Hing)
• A handful of Cilantro, finely chopped
• Salt

For Seasoning/Tempering:

• 1 tsp oil
• ½ tsp Mustard Seeds
• ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
• ½ tsp Black Gram (Minappappu, Urad Dal)
• ½ tsp Bengal Gram (Pachi Senagapappu, Chana Dal)
• Few Curry Leaves

Preparation:

1. Pressure cook bottle gourd pieces until done.
2. Soak tamarind in enough water for some time and extract juice. Keep aside.
3. If using readily available tamarind pulp, skip the above step.
4. Heat oil in a pan or bowl and add mustard seeds. When they splutter add cumin seeds + black gram + Bengal gram and sauté well until the dals turn golden brown in color.
5. Then add chopped onions + tomatoes + green chilies or chili powder + curry leaves and mix well. Then pour some water, cover and allow onions to become soft.
6. Then add tamarind juice as needed and mix well. Also add turmeric + asafetida and mix well.
7. Finally add bottle gourd pieces and bring the mixture to a light boil. Add salt and mix well.
8. Then turn off the flame and add chopped cilantro on top and mix well.
9. Transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy with rice/chapathi.

Note: If the pulusu turns too watery, mix a tsp of rice flour/corn flour in enough water and add to the boiling pulusu and mix well. This makes the gravy thick.