Bottle Gourd Raita is a refreshing and light yogurt-based relish that highlights the mild flavor of bottle gourd, without the use of onion or garlic. Bottle gourd can be replaced with zucchni or even fresh cucumber in this recipe.This cooling side dish combines cooked bottle gourd with creamy yogurt and is seasoned with a spicy and pungent paste made from brown mustard seeds, ginger and chili. Its smooth texture and subtle but pungent spices make it a perfect accompaniment to meals, adding a cooling contrast and a nutritious touch. Simple yet flavorful, Bottle Gourd Raita offers a delightful and healthy way to complement any meal.
Bottle gourd Raita| Onion garlic free relish
Course: MainCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Easy2
servings10
minutes10
minutes20
minutesRaita is a very loved accompaniment to a main meal. In the summers it acts like a cooling food. The relish is made with a hint of spicy and pungent notes from the mustard , chili and ginger. Optionally dark roast cumin seeds that are pounded into a fine powder can also be added on the top. In this recipe you will learn to make the paste from mustard seeds, green chili and ginger. You will also learn how to prepare a seasoning spice from cumin seeds alone.
Ingredients
2 cups of bottle gourd
1 cup water
1 tsp Salt
1 Cup Yogurt / Curd
1/2 TBSP Brown mustard seeds
1 TBSP Ginger
1 TBSP Green chili
2 TBSP Cumin seeds or Jeera (Optional)
Preperation
- Peel Cut the bottle gourd into half inch pieces
- Boil 2 cups of bottle gourd pieces with 1 cup of water until it is cooked. Keep the heat on medium low to make full use of the steam in which the vegetable can cook. Once cooked allow the bottle gourd to cool
- Add 1 cup Yogurt / Curd to a bowl and mix it with 1/2 a cup of water
- Add the cooked bottle gourd
- Add the salt
- Prepare a smooth paste with mustard seeds, ginger and chili and add this to the bowl with yogurt and bottle gourd
- Mix well and serve it cold
- Optionally season it with ground roasted cumin powder. Roast the whole cumini seeds on medium heat in a cast iron or carbon steel skillet. Roast for about 5 to 7 minutes ensuring that it is not burning.
- When the roasting is complete, pound the roasted cumin seeds into a fine powder in a mortar and pestle.
- This roasted cumin powder can be used as a seasoning in any yogurt based raita
Recipe Video
