Sorakaya Paala Kootu/Bottle Gourd cooked in Milk

From Mom,

Ingredients:

• 1 nos - Bottle Gourd

• 1 cup - Milk

• 1 Tbsp - Sugar

• Salt to taste

For masala :

• 1 tsp - Black peppercorns

• 3 nos - Red Chillies

• 1 tsp - Rice

• 1 Tbsp - Urad Dal

• 1 small cup - Coconut

For seasoning:

• 1 tsp - Mustard seeds

• 1 tsp - Urad dal

• 1 sprig - Curry leaves

• 2 tsp - Oil

Procedure:

1. Cube the bottle gourd and boil till they turn soft in a mocrowave or in a vessel with enough water.
2. Roast all the masala ingredients in a little oil and set aside so they reach room temperature.
3. Cool and grind to a paste by adding sufficient water.
4. Now transfer the bottle gourd into a saucepan, add the paste, sugar, salt and water and allow to boil for about 5 mins.
5. Reduce the heat and add one cup of milk and let the curry simmer for 3mins allowing all the spices to blend well.
   
6. Transfer into a serving dish and season with mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves.
   

My Notes:

• The same cooking method can be used for Chayote squash(bangalore kathirikai/chow chow) and pumpkin.
• I made a slightly modified version of this kootu by adding ginger to the masala paste and adding some channa dal while boiling the bottle gaurd and skipped the milk too.

Chayote Squash

Bottle Gourd