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Saturday, August 1, 2009

Hearty Dinner - Bengali Pulao with Lauki Kofta

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The days are very long nowadays, the sky being bright till almost 7o’clock. This is the summer time & outside is really very hot. This time I always try to make the meal very mild , as well as tasty . My husband was asking for some kofta for quite a while now . They are not something that I make very often .
Last time when I visited India , my mom given me some Gobindobhog Rice ( one kind of basmati rice ) , which I normally use for Payesh or for Pulao . Its quite a long time now , that I brought them ,So I thought to make some Lauki Kofta ( Lau-er kofta ) & Bengali Pulao last week .

So here is the recipe :



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Ingredients for lauki kofta :-

1. 1 medium size lauki .
2. 4 tbsp besan .
3. 1 small onion chopped finely .
4. 2 small tomato .
5. 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste .
6. salt to taste .
7. 2 tsp red chilli powder .
8. 4 tsp coriender powder .
9. 1 tsp garam masala powder .
10. whole garam masala ( 1 bay leaf ,2 green cardamom ,1" piece cinnamon , 2 laung ) .
11 2 tsp of dahi / yoghut .
12 green chillies chopped finely .
13 Handful of chopped coriender .
14 Oil .
15. 2 tsp fresh cream ( optional ) .

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Method for kofta :-

1. Grate the lauki in a foo processor & mix some salt . Keep it for 5 min .
2. Now squeeze the extra water from it & add besan in the grated lauki, mix it well with hands preferably .
3. Take 1 tbsp oil in a kadai and add the besan lauki paste to it .Mix the paste well in the kadai till it becomes dry .
4. Now remove it from heat & mix chopped onion , chopped green chilli , chopped coriender leave , salt ,red chilli powder & dhaniya powder .
5. Make small kofta balls from the mix . Keep these balls aside .
6. Now heat oil in a kadai & fry these balls till golden brown . Now remove from the heat & keep in a kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil .
7. In a food processor grind the onion , tomato, ginger-gerlic paste , dahi into a paste & keep aside .
8. Take 2 tbsp of oil and add whole garam masala in it , once the masala start crackle add the onion paste to it 7 fry till raw smell disappear .
9. Once it turns golden brown , add red chilli powder , dhaniya, garam masala and salt to it.
10. Fry the masala till the paste leaves oil , now add the cream .
11. Fry for another 2-3 min & add 1/2 cup water . Once the gravy start boiling add the koftas & garam masala powder .
12. Boil for another 2 min & remove from the heat . Sprinkle some chopped
green coriender .

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Ingredients for Pulao :-

1. 1 cup basmati rice ( I used gobindobhog rice ).
2. 2 green chilli finely chopped .
3. 1" piece of fresh ginger cut into juilions .
4. 1 carrot chopped into small pieces .
5. 1/2 cup green peas .
6. 1 tsp turmeric powder .
7. Whole garam masala ( 1 bay leaf ,2 green cardamom ,1" piece cinnamon , 2 laung , 2 black cardamom , 4 black peppercorn ) .
8. Salt
9. 5-6 tsp sugar ( you can adjust as per your taste ) .
10. 4 tsp ghee & 4 tsp of oil .
11. 1/2 cup cashew nuts & raisins .
12. 3-4 stands of saffron , soaked in milk ( optional ).

Method :-

1. Wash the rice & soak it in water for 30 min .
2. Now in a pressue cooker add the oil+ghee .
3. Now add all the ingredients & mix properly . Add 2 1/2cups of water & close the lid .
4. put the pressure cooker in the gas & cook it on slow heat till 3 whistle .
5. Remove from the heat & let it cool till the pressure release completely . Now bengali pulao is ready to serve .

We had ours with lauki kofta . It taste great .

Note :- We bengalis like sweetness . But if you want you can use the suger less .



31 comments:

Shama Nagarajan said...

looks yummy...delicious pulao

Vani said...

What a lovely combi, Dolon! The kofta curry sounds so good.

Vibaas said...

that looks very delicious and tempting :)

Anonymous said...

That looks so homely ...enjoyed your lauki recipe..

Padma said...

Lovely combo... and pulao looks very colorful and yummy :)

Mythreyi Dilip said...

Yummy pulao and crispy kofta, great combo!

kittymatti said...

wow! delicious combo..new to me..shud try it some time

Priyameena said...

Wonderful combo...mouth watering!!

Parita said...

Different combo! lauko koftas look delicious!

Anonymous said...

Looks very tasty !tnx for posting dear!

Sudeshna said...

Dolon,
Nice way to prepare the kofta. Loved the recipe, very innovative.

saffronapron.blogspot.com said...

My mom used to make this for me when I was in college. Miss her so much. Nice recipe and thanks for taking me back home.

lubnakarim06 said...

Wow...it's a double treat....both the recipe look yum...love the idea of lauki kofta.....

Unknown said...

wow what a combination yaar looks so tempting.

Sindhura said...

Very innovative n tempting combo DOLON!!!
Wish you belated happy friendship day!!!
Drop in sometime

Jyoti said...

These look great. I make it similar way, only add the squeezed water back to the gravy. My favorite, love it!

suvi said...

that kofta looks yum!!

Anonymous said...

Hi dear,
I tried Misti doi,It was so so so
delicious ...tnx a lot for the recipe!

Vrinda said...

Yummy pulao and kofta...looks very tempting with kofta as side dish...

Uma said...

that's a healthy dinner indeed!! looks so delicious :)

Vikis Kitchen said...

Pulav and kofta ...what a combo ! They look like made for each other. Nice presentation.

Tulip said...

Hi Dolon,

you have a very nice blog and great collection of recipes !! kofta ta khub yummy dekhte hoyeche, and i would like to try the misti doi very soon. thanks for the recipes !! :)

Unknown said...

Kofta and pulao sounds like a yummy combo!

eshoboshoaahare.blogspot.in said...

Hmm....... aamar Priyo... Plz collect your awards form my blog....

Dibs said...

Was looking for lau-er kofta recipe! Glad to have found palav as well! Lovely recipes!

Sunanda said...

First time in your blog ... U have an awesome blog.. both pulao and koftas looks extremely delicious..
Do vist my blog when u find time

Varsha Vipins said...

Delicious Combo Dolon.I loved that Lauki curry esply..:)

Lena Jayadev said...

hai Dolon....this looks amazing....nice combination with kofthas...snap is really nice...

Home Cooked Oriya Food said...

lovely kofta curry...

Doloncookbook said...

Thanks to all for such lovely comments .

nilanjana said...

the aloo tikki chat is awesome!!!