14 May 2008

Doodhi Koftas

Growing up, most of the vegetables found on this planet fell into the category of vegetables I disliked. I can imagine how hard it was for my mother to come up with ideas to make me relish the ones on my "dislike" list. Much has changed since I've had to cook myself. The discovery of the fact that my husband too had a similar "dislike" list and the sheer lack of innovative ideas to come up with varieties with the veggies we liked, pushed me into experimenting with the ones we both disliked earlier. Doodhi/lauki/bottle gourd is one such vegetable that found acceptance rather quickly. The fact that it is tasteless by itself helps, as it absorbs flavours of the spices in which it is cooked. Our favourite way of consuming doodhi is making koftas which disguises the doodhi itself and whoever says no to koftas!




You'll need:

For the koftas:
1 cup grated bottlegourd
1/2 cup besan/chickpea flour
1 tsp garlic paste
1 green chilli chopped finely
3 tbsp coriander leaves chopped finely
1/4 tsp amchur/mango powder
a pinch of black pepper powder
salt to taste
oil for frying

Peel and grate the doodhi, keep aside for 15 minutes and squeeze out the excess water. (The water can be used to knead roti dough.) Add the remaining ingredients to the grated doodhi and mix well. Form tiny balls or koftas and deep fry in oil till done. Keep aside.

Koftas can be stored in the freezer for a month.

For the gravy:

1 cup tomato puree
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp chilli powder
a pinch of turmeric
1 tsp garam masala powder
salt to taste

For the garnish: (optional)
finely chopped coriander leaves
cream



Heat oil in a pan, add the cumin seeds and let it splutter. Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add the spices and tomato puree and cook till the oil separates. Add sufficient water, bring it to a boil and simmer to get the consistency you like.
Just before serving, add the koftas to the gravy and simmer for a few minutes. garnish with cream and coriander leaves and serve.

20 comments:

Mishmash ! said...

I love koftas of any variety but i have never made , somehow i feel the effort is too much, so I would appreciate if you can cook this for me :P

Cynthia said...

This is one of my aunt Betty's favourite dishes :) yours looks so yummy. I really like your template.

Unknown said...

wow..lovely koftas..cant believe they are made with doodhi

Siri said...

Oooooo, the koftas look yummy.. and what a coincidence, I made Aloo koftas just yesterday!..:)

Siri

Sia said...

jyo, guess what? with same intention of making koftas i had bought a bottle gourd yesterday. and kofta is what we r gonna have this weekend:) have u tried adding few cashews while making koftas? it gives nice crunch to it. tip from my amma:)

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

Don't like doodhis either. But I like them this way and maybe in "kootu" where it gets disguised with flavours of dal, spice and coconut!!

Swati Raman Garg said...

love ur pics... i too made these but a bit differently... u can check it out...

Kalai said...

Wow! Koftas are looking awesome. Will have to try this out! :)

J said...


Shn - Sure, I'll make koftas for you and you can make some of your non-veg delicacies for me.... so we have a deal? :)
Cynthia - Thanks:)
Divya - Yep, they a are!
Siri - Wow, will hop over to check out the aloo koftas.
Sia - I know about the cashew tip, thanks. But I keep away from all thsoe extra fats coz we consume them in other ways anyway! :)
Aparna - Yeah, disguise is good!;)
Swati - Will check out your version soon.
Kalai - Thanks, try it! :)

bha said...

i like doodhi, but my father doesnt and so i make koftas for him whenever i get an opportunity....and when he says tht they are nice, i tell him that they are made up of doodhi....:)

Sunshinemom said...

Very pretty blog and tasty recipes. Doodhi koftas happen to a favourite with me too.

sra said...

Someone once asked me to guess what they were - and I said kheema koftas. When they said they were veg, and doodhi, I just couldn't believe it.

FH said...

I love your blog look, pretty!

Love the Doodhi kofta, made it once long time ago, great photo.

I made your Saibhaji y'day, will link next week!:)

Susan said...

I would *never* say no to koftas! I'm just starting to sort out all the different Indian gourds. These look terrific.

Uma said...

looks so delicious. Lovely recipe.

Kribha said...

Koftas look super delicious. Nice recipe and pictures.

J said...


Bhags -Thats what i told my hubby the first time...:)
Sunshinemom - Hey I love that name! Welcome to Currybazaar and thanks for your comments.:)
Sra - That's the purpose of the disguise...keep the guests guessing!
Asha - I like it everytime you say my blog looks pretty! Thanks :) Hope you liked the saibhaji and thanks for trying out my recipe!
Susan - I think I should try making koftas with the other gourds too :)
Uma - Thanks :)
Kribha - Hope you try!

Anonymous said...

This looks so good -- and it's such a cool, horrible "spring" day where I am I could almost feel the warmth and comfort of this dish right through my computer screen!

indosungod said...

Fall into the same category, don't hate doodhi but won't jump and buy it either. Koftas looks delicious and this is absolutely the best way to eat it I bet.

J said...


Jackie - Welcome to Currybazaar and thankyou for those sweet words :)
Indo - I can agree with you!