Sorakaya Palu Curry | Bottle Gourd Curry With Milk

There are innumerable simple recipes that we bloggers neglect to share, wondering who would make such a simple recipe and end up never blogging it. Today’s post is about one such comfort food, Sorakaya Palu Curry or Bottle Gourd Curry With Milk.

Curry cooked in milk (Palu Posina Kura) is fairly a common method used in Andhra cuisine. Bottle gourd is cooked with onions, ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder and simmered in milk. This gives the curry a very interesting sweet and spicy taste. Bottle gourd is cooked in different ways but this simple recipe enhances the taste of this mildly flavoured vegetable. Adding milk gives the veggie a very creamy texture and it almost tastes and looks like as if we have added Koya/kova to the curry.

Bottle Gourd also known as calabash (lauki/Sorakaya/anapakaya/doodhi…), is very low in fat and high in dietary fibre and it contains almost 95% water. Since its water content is high, it is obviously a cooling agent to our bodies. The benefits of bottle gourd as a veggie are great- it helps in controlling cholesterol level. It’s also high in certain vitamins and minerals. It enhances the liver function, relieves constipation, good for heart health , diabetes and blood pressure too. This veggie should be part of our diet at least once a week. To make it even more nutritious and balanced, it is often cooked with lentils. Bottle gourd is frequently used in Ayurveda for its nutritional value. People who want to shed weight can include a big portion of this vegetable in their daily diet to keep the stomach filling with fewer calories.

Check out Sorakaya Pulusu completely different and delicious curry prepared with Bottle Gourd.

Click here to know more about the benefits of bottle gourd.

One lonely bottle gourd is awaiting its turn in my refrigerator for quite some time. I finally got my hands on it last night!!

Sorakaya Palu Curry or Bottle Gourd Curry With Milk has become one of our favourite dishes from my moms kitchen. I’m not sure if I really liked it back then but now I crave for it once in a while and definitely make this curry not just with bottle gourd but also a few other veggies. My mom’s version doesn’t include ginger garlic paste, but I somehow like to have a mild burst of flavours.

Picking a bottle gourd – How do you choose a nice and young green bottle gourd? Look for the green smooth skin and firmness by inserting one corner of your nail. If your nail inserts easily with a little pressure, it’s young. Simple…Isn’t it?? I don’t generally remove the seeds of the vegetable like others do, I somehow like it when the juicy and tender seeds flavour the tongue in it’s own way with every bite.

There is no way to make this recipe sound any more simple and delicious than it is. There is always a love-hate relationship with certain veggies..I’m sure bottle gourd is one such. Either you love it or you don’t. But I certainly hope that you are among those who love this fantastic vegetable….if not you will love it here after .

Enough of my ramblings and let me just head out to the recipe for Sorakaya Palu Curry!!

Steps to make Sorakaya Palu Curry / Bottle Gourd Curry With Milk:

• Peel the bottle gourd with peeler, wash it off and chop into small pieces.
• In case the bottle gourd is not a tender one, discard the spongy portion in the centre and seeds, if any. I usually like to use the whole bottle gourd. So make sure you pick a tender one!!

• Chop onion, green chillies and coriander.
• You will also need milk. I have used low fat milk (1.5%)…feel free to use whole milk.

• Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot enough, add mustard seeds and wait till it pops up.
• Now add chopped onions, green chillies and curry leaves. Sauté for a while till the onions become soft.
• To this add the bottle gourd pieces and turmeric powder. Add enough salt and sauté for a minute.

• Now add ginger garlic paste and red chilli powder. Stir well, cover with lid and cook for 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat.
• When you open the lid you will see that water oozes out from the vegetable and the curry will cook in that water. In case if the vegetable is not very fresh, water may not ooze and in that case sprinkle some water in the curry, stir well and cook till the vegetable is half cooked.

• At this stage add milk and cook over medium heat till the vegetable is completely cooked and you get the desired consistency.
• Adjust consistency of the gravy to suit your needs. I usually like to make it on the thicker side.

• Turn off the heat and garnish with finely chopped coriander.

• Serve this luscious green bottle gourd curry or Sorakaya palu curry with rice, roti or paratha. I have served with rice and some fresh salad on the side.

Print Recipe

Sorakaya Palu Curry | Bottle Gourd Curry With Milk

Sorakaya Palu Curry is a creamy textured curry where Bottle Gourd is cooked with onions, ginger garlic paste red chilli powder and simmered in milk.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian (Andhra)

Servings: 3 to 4

Author: Padma

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon oil
• ½ teaspoon Mustard Seeds
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 2 to 3 Green Chillies
• A sprig of Curry Leaves
• 1 medium size Bottle gourd 400 grams, peeled, washed and cubed to small pieces
• ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon ginger garlic paste
• ½ to 1 teaspoon Red chilli powder
• 1 cup Milk low fat
• Required Salt to taste
• 2 Tablespoons fresh coriander finely chopped

Instructions

• Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot enough add mustard seeds and wait till it pops up.
• Now add chopped onions, green chillies and curry leaves. Sauté for a while till the onions become soft.
• To this add the bottle gourd pieces and turmeric powder. Add enough salt and sauté for a minute.
• Add ginger garlic paste and red chilli powder. Stir well, cover with lid and cook for 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat.
• When you open the lid you will see that water oozes out from the vegetable and the curry will cook in that water. In case if the vegetable is not very fresh, water may not ooze and in that case sprinkle some water in the curry, stir it well and cook till the vegetable is half cooked.
• At this stage add milk and cook till the vegetable is completely cooked and you get the desired consistency.
• Adjust consistency of the gravy to suit your needs. I usually like to make it on the thicker side.
• Turn off the heat and garnish with finely chopped coriander.
• Serve this luscious green bottle gourd curry or Sorakaya palu curry with rice, roti or paratha.

Notes

1. Adjust spice levels to suit your taste.
2. You can skip red chilli powder and use only green chillies if you do not want red coloured curry.
3. Inclusion of ginger garlic paste is personal choice.
4. You can also include a teaspoon of channa dal and urad dal while seasoning.
5. After adding milk the spiciness will be reduced slightly, so keep this in mind while adding green chillies.
6. If the vegetable is very tender and grown organically, you can even skip to peel of the skin.

Check out Beerakaya Palu Curry & Potlakaya Palu Curry prepared on the same lines.

Do check out other VEGETARIAN CURRIES on the blog.

Many more to come…..Stay Tuned!!!

Happy Cooking 🙂

Cheers!!

Padma