Bottle gourd is known as lauki in hindi and suraikai in tamil. It is a very humble vegetable but packed with lots of vitamins and minerals.
It’s a very rich source of vitamin C, vit B, vit A, vit K and also rich in manganese, iron, potassium and folate. It’s also very rich source of dietary fibre and has lot of water content.
This vegetable aids weight loss, cools down the body, helps to relieve constipation, control blood sugar and reduce cholesterol.
Lauki is a very versatile vegetable. It can be used in many recipes.
Few days back, for lunch I wanted to make lauki. My initial plan was to make lauki dal and pulao. As I was chopping the lauki, I thought of making lauki kadhi. But I didn’t have sufficient yogurt . So, I decided to use coconut milk instead of yogurt.
Thankfully, the kadhi came out really well. It was mildly spiced, flavourful, creamy and indeed delicious, just the way I had imagined.
Needless to say, I was very happy. I served this Lauki Coconut Kadhi with dry fruits pulao and salad. My family really loved it.
I trust that you will like it too:)

Ingredients
Chopped lauki – 2 cups
Chopped tomato- 1/2 cups
Sliced tomato- 6-8 slices
Oil – 1 tbsp
Mustard- 1 tsp
Cumin seeds ( jeera) – 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds ( methi/ vendhayam)- 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder- 1 tsp
Coriander powder ( dhania) – 1 tsp
Cumin powder ( jeera) – 2 tsps
Hing ( asafoetida / perungayam)- 2 pinches
Curry Leaves- 2 sprigs
Thick coconut milk – 1 cup
Besan ( gram flour, kadala maavu) – 2 tbsps
Sugar – 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Chopped coriander leaves- 1 tbsp
Lemon juice – 2 tsps
Method
Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard. When it starts spluttering, add cumin, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, and hing.
Sauté for few minutes and add the chopped lauki and tomatoes.
Continue to sauté for few more mins and then add turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander, cumin powder and salt to taste.
Mix well and sauté for few mins.
Add 1/2 cup of water and cook till the vegetables are cooked.
Now, mix besan in 1+1/2 cup water well till there are no lumps.
Add it to the vegetables and mix well.
Check for seasonings.
Let it cook on a medium flame till the gravy thickens and the raw smell of besan goes away.
Add the thick coconut milk and the sliced tomatoes. Mix well, close the pan and let it simmer on a low flame for 10 mins.
Take the pan off the flame and let it rest for few mins.
Add the lemon juice and mix well.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve the kadhi hot with pulao/ steamed rice/ khichadi 🙂