Monday, August 02, 2010

Dudh Diye Lau

Literally translated as Lauki/ Bottle Gourd/ Dudhi/ Ghiya cooked with milk, a Bengali specialty for summers.

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Bengalis have a knack of combining the strangest of ingredients and coming up with something very exotic. If you are craving for something extremely natural in taste, try making the Dudh Diye Lau.

One person who couldn't be happier about the fact that I am eating my vegetables is my Mum. My Mother used to make this dish at least once a week all through the summers of our our growing up years in India. How I hated it then!

She’d say, “pet thanda thakbe”, your tummy will remain cool. Bottle gourd or lauki/lau has many health benefits including a cooling effect due to its high water content.

And that’s how the lau in this recipe is cooked, in its own water!

Ingredients for Dudh Diye Lau are:

1 good looking Bottle Gourd/ Lauki/ Lau about 500 grams
Half teaspoon yellow mustard powder/ ground to a paste
Half teaspoon whole yellow mustard seeds
2-3 green chilies, broken from the center
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour/ maida
Half cup milk
2 tablespoons desi ghee
Sugar
Salt

Wash the whole bottle gourd and peel the skin. Cut small sections of the gourd and then chop each very finely.

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In a wok or sauté pan, heat ghee and toss in the yellow mustard seeds, green chilies and the bay leaves. Let the mustard seeds splutter and change color to a darker hue.

Now add the finely chopped gourd. Add the powdered mustard seeds, salt and sugar. Cover and cook till the gourd is done by not mushy.
IMG_9866 IMG_9867 The salt will do its trick on the bottle gourd and it will release a lot of water. Let the gourd/ lauki cook in its own juices.

IMG_9868 Mix all-purpose flour/maida and milk and sieve. Add this mixture to the cooked lauki/lau.

IMG_9869 Mix well and lower the heat. Let the maida and milk mixture get absorbed by the vegetable. The consistency at the end should be thick and not runny. The Dudh Diye Lau should also have a balance of salt and sweet, so check the seasoning at the end. You may add a wee little ghee to finish it off.

IMG_9870 IMG_9872Traditionally, bhaja bori (fried lentil bari) is added as a garnish to this dish, but I haven’t done that since I did not have any at home.

The Dudh Diye Lau is usually made for lunch and served with rice as a first course, sometimes second only to some uchche bhaja (fried bitter gourd).

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9 comments:

GB said...

I've never had this...looks yummy!! One staple in my pantry hads always been lauki, and I usually make lauki subzi or lauki-chane-ki-dal. This looks like a nice new twist on an old favorite...I'll have to try this. (I made rasmalai this weekend and have linked back to your blog because I was to harried to take pictures of my own for the tutorial! :)--any case your's always come out so much better! :)
Hope you don't mind me piggy backing on your post!)

GB said...

has
too
sorry for the typos (and no, I can;'t just let it go--I'm a little OCD like that! :D)

the-mommie said...

this is one of the most often done dishes at my in-laws. when i was first married i found it quite off my palate. :) but over time and specially when i was expecting my son (!) i took to it like mirchi ka achaar!! :D thanks for the recipe. now i can surprise the hubby with a perfect version of my own!

Satya said...

hi pree,
first time here ,u got a beautiful space here with beautiful collection of dishes...love this lauki curry too ...very beautiful combo of lauki n milk ...new to me ...u explained very nicely with ur picture ,i love to try this ...happy to fine u
if u get time do visit my blog

Satya
http://www.superyummyrecipes.com

PreeOccupied said...

@Gb, for some strange reason, I can't access your Blog. :-(

@Satya, thanks for visiting.

Kamini said...

Pree...first time commenting here. I love this dish...I had a Bengali cook who used to make this for me. I say "used to" cos I, um, how shall we say...let her go a couple of weeks ago! But now I can follow your recipe and make it yay! Also thanks for stopping by my blog...no 20 year old am I, but am not THAT old, I had my son when I was a little shy of 21 and he is almost 29 now! And I have been accused by my husband of behaving "childishly"!!!

PreeOccupied said...

@Kamini, you speak for every woman. or at least me. I am pregnant now and all my husband says is my days of being a brat are over! :-)

Sayantani Mahapatra Mudi said...

ei dish tar katha khub sunechi tabe kakhano khaini. tarkari'r rang ta khub sundor hoeche. amar bagane lau gach lagiechi. hole akdin banabo. sharir bhalo ache asha kori.

PreeOccupied said...

And the day I made the same dish with bhaja bori: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=562107647143836&set=a.189672671054004.40730.118032338218038&type=1&theater