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Niramish Lau - er Ghonto |
While on vacations whoever we meet ( especially those from the western world ) often envy the sunny, clear blue skies, a
patent of the tropical climate of India. Something which we have known since a child, "
Grass always seems greener on the other side " seems so true now. Because starting from mid March and continued till October when the
scorching sun on the streets leave us dehydrated, the snow - laden mountains is what we can only hallucinate when we open the freezer door and wait for that
cold puff to hit us right on the face.
Summers in different parts of our country are as diversified as our motherland's culture and traditions. One will be dripping wet because of the extreme humidity in the coastal areas while the dry dusty hot winds in the capital plays with the cooling mechanism of the body giving you heatstroke. Naturally taking care of your diet becomes a matter of prime importance during these days. Vegetables like
kumro ( pumpkin),
korola ( bitter gourd ),
lau ( bottle gourd ),
potol (pointed gourd ),
jhinge ( ridge gourd) becomes a part of
everyday menu,
irrespective of the fact whether you like it or not. When you have a daunting mother yelling at you since childhood to eat your veggies right, you seldom have any other choice. But what seemed to be a dutiful task to eat as a kid, gradually developed into a lovable acquired taste as I grew up.
Every Bengali meal at home used to have at least two vegetable side dish, one as
bhaja ( fried ) like
Begun Bhaja and another like a
Chocchori or a spicy
Aloo - Potol torkari ( Potato - Pointed gourd curry ) or a nutty
Kumror Chokka ( a pumpkin mish - mash ) or a cool and soothing
Lau - Ghonto ( a bottle gourd mix ) as a healthy accompaniment of the multi - course lunch menu.
All of the vegetarian dishes I mentioned have a non - vegetarian sibling added up with some
Chingri ( shrimps ) or
Maacher muro ( fish - heads ) which are equally delectable. But, I being me, often run out of the fishy parts making
Chingri Malaikari or
Kaanta Chocchori and thus remain left with only the vegetarian options. To be honest, today I fell short of another ingredient,
boris ( sun dried urad dal dumplings ) used generally for the vegetarian substitute, which I already used all up in
Shaak Bhaja last week. But, when its almost 40 degree Celsius in early April and you have that beautiful pale green thing calling out to you from the vegetable tray of the refrigerator, you give in. Interestingly, it turned out to be excellent, even
without the boris. Therefore, I realised falling short of a few ingredients should not discourage you to prepare something which you are craving for. Get creative, who knows you might come up with something really special out of the ordinary !!
Niramish Lau - Ghonto, a little bit on the sweeter side turns out ecstatic if done ordinarily. No excessive use of spices to irritate your digestive system it does have a
soothing effect on you in the summers. You can add the boris if you want but since I happily let go of it this one time, I might not require them again. Hence, next time you return home from office drenched in your own perspiration, prepare this
lau - er ghonto which would not even take
adh - ghonta to prepare.
Ingredients
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Lau peeled and grated |
Tomato - 1 cut into small pieces
Potato ( optional ) - 1 cut into small pieces
Peas - a fistful ( some which I saved in the freezer from winter months )
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Ingredients |
Gota Garam Masala ( bay leaf / tejpata - 1, cardamom / elaichi - 2 burst open, cinnamon / dalchini - around 2 inches )
Dried red chilli - 1
Green chilli - 1 cut into small pieces
Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon
Cumin powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt according to taste
Mustard oil - 2 teaspoon
Garam Masala powder ( You can dry roast and grind the ingredients or can just use a readymade one from the market ) - a pinch
Gur / Sugar ( according to taste )
Procedure
( I have used a pressure cooker which would allow me to complete the task within minutes. Do use the normal kadhai if you have the liberty of time and energy ).
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Tempering the oil with the gota garam masala |
- Once they start spluttering put in the lau and potatoes and stir everything together to mix with the oil.
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The lau and the aloo |
Cover the cooker with a steel plate and let rest for around 3 minutes over low flame.
Remove the plate and add the turmeric and cumin powder along with the salt. Bring in the tomatoes. Increase the flame to medium high. Notice the gourd release its water.
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Spices and tomatoes |
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Peas right in |
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Sight after you open the cooker |
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The garam masala powder and the gur |
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That beautiful view !!! Indulge.. |
Lau - er Ghonto is ready to be served with some plain white rice or even some rotis. But in summers making rice always seem to be an easy option for me. Hopefully this would encourage the idea of having a wholesome meal to relax the tummy, done effortlessly in the flaming kitchen during the burning summer weather !!!
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