Bottle Guard Peel Chutney / lauki chilka chutney /Sorakaya Pachadi:

Bottle gourd is a very healthy and popular Indian vegetable. Bottle gourd (also known as bottle squash or calabash gourd) has recently received worldwide recognition for its many health benefits. It can improve liver and nervous system function, as well as restore urinary, respiratory and digestive tract health. Bottle gourd is a rich source of fiber, protein and vitamins. It is good for people who have problems with their stomach and digestive system. Bottle gourd can be served in many forms like bottle gourd curry, chutney, juice etc.

We can make many varieties with Bottle gaurd. One of the varity is chutney. Bottle gourd chutney is also known as Suraikkai Chutney or Sorakaya Pachadi. Many time a very small portion that is left and there is nothing much that can prepared with it except chutney. We know that peels of many vegetables are rich in nutrients, still hardly we get a chance to make use of them. Once my friend Deepthi prepared this dish with Lauki Peels and it tasted pretty good.so after that i also tried this @ home & believe me the taste is awesome... J

Its simple to prepare like any other chutney. When making chutneys, whole spices are roasted in oil and ground to a fine paste with other ingredients.

Goes very well with rice and chapathi. It can be preserved for 2 to 3 days by kepping in fridge. this  is a perfect recipe to use  as a spicy side dish.

So lets start the recipe.....

Ingredients:

1 cup lauki/ lau/ bottle gourd peeled skin chopped

½ cup bottle gourd cubes

1/2 tbsp chana dal

1/2 tbsp split gram dal

Handful peanuts

1 big tomato (Optional)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

2 dry red chillis, de-seed

2 green chillis, chop each into two

4-5 garlic cloves

1 tsp jaggery or sugar

1 onion chopped

gooseberry sized tamarind (soaked in 2-3 tbsps warm water)

salt to taste

2 tblsp oil

For seasoning/ tadka:

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp white skin less urad dal

2 dry red chillis

few fresh curry leaves

hing a pinch

1 tblsp oil

Method:

 Heat oil in a pan,  add peanuts, Bengal gram, split gram dal, cumin seeds and stir fry for till the dals turn red. Then add garlic, red chillis, green chillis, and curry leaves and fry on medium heat for 1 minute.  

Then add the chopped bottle gourd cubes & skins and saute for 4-5 min. Add the chopped tomatoes. Mix well. let them cook for another 4-5 mts or till the rawness of the vegetable goes and the water evaporates.

Remove from heat and let cool.

 Once cool, add the sautéed ingredients along with tamarind extract jaggery and salt and grind to a paste. Then add the raw onions & grind again. Taste the chutney and add more tamarind paste if you want it more tangy.  If you used whole tamarind you can add some lime juice.

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and let them crackle, add hing, urad dal and let it turn red, add curry leaves and dry red chillis and stir fry for a few seconds. Pour the seasoning over the ground chutney.

 serve with hot rice or idlie or dosa.

    Benefits of Bottle Gourd

·        Its low fat and cholesterol content make it a light, low-calorie addition to any diet.

·        Its high fiber content helps reduce constipation.

·        The bottle gourd comprises 96 percent water, which makes it ideal for quenching thirst.

·        It also provides multiple vitamins and minerals including iron, sodium, potassium and trace elements.

·        When the liver is unable to filter nutrients properly, the bottle gourd can help restore liver health. Its sodium content helps balance liver function. Its thirst-quenching and fatigue-fighting properties also assist proper liver function.

·        Bottle gourd also fights urinary tract infections. The alkaline in it counteracts acidity associated with urinary tract infections, and relieves pain while passing urine. The bottle gourd is even believed to break down calculus or stones in the urinary system.

·        It is often used as a remedy for premature baldness and graying. Juice from the bottle gourd's leaves can prevent and cure balding and jaundice.

·        Bottle gourd can relieve symptoms of asthma and bronchitis, and also reduce headaches.

·        Its benefits for the nervous system include treatment of such disorders as insanity and epilepsy.

·        Try some bottle gourd and gain from its many health benefits. The bitter flavor can be easily masked by mixing it into foods that you already eat. Bottle gourd is an excellent way to supplement your diet as well as fend off and treat disease.


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