Bottle Gourd curry

Bottle Gourd is very effective in many ailments. Specially raw juice of this vegetable mixed with lime juice is very effective in curing UTI infections. Its also very effective in curing diarrhea. I used to ignore this vegetable until i knew its medicinal properties. Now this  is a part of my die.

This is a beautiful blend of Moong Dhal and Gourd. This curry goes very well with hot rice/Chapati and ghee :)

Ingrediants
Moong Dhal - 1 cup (soaked for 1 hour)
Bottle Gourd - Finely chopped one cup
Tomato - 1
Onion - 1
Garlic - 4 finely chopped
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 5
Jeera - 1/4 tsp
Mustard - 1/4 tsp
Coriander leaves
Oil
Salt

Cooking Method
Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard, jeera and curry leaves.
Add finely chopped onion and garlic and fry till translucent. Add tomatoes, Chilli Powder, Asafoetida.
Fry till the oil leaves the sides and the masala gives a good aroma.
Add soaked dhal, Fry for a minute. add 2 cups of water and cook till the dhal becomes soft but not mushy.
Now add the chopped bottle gourd and cook for 5 min
Garnish with ghee and coriander leaves.

Cooking time : 30 min
Serves - 3

Note

• For fast cooking, pressure cook dhal with garlic and asafoetida. Add to the onion masala, followed by bottle gourd.
• You can substitute bottle gourd with white pumkin or cucumber.