Bottle- gourd (calabash) and peas – tomatoey, warm, and comforting vegan curry. It is delicious and aromatic, full of flavours and goodness.
Bottle gourd is used to prepare variety of dishes in India from chutneys, stews stir fry etc. One such recipe is this tomatoey curry.
It is quick and easy to prepare, light on stomach and helps during bad stomach days. Lentils and peas add the protein to the fibre rich curry. The recipe can be customised based on the needs. See the notes section below for tips.
In the recipe, the base of the curry is pureed tomatoes and lentils. Ground spices along with mustard, urad dal, cumin, and bay leaves are added to make the curry aromatic, warm and comforting.
tomato puree with Cooked lentils
Bottle-gourd is steamed in pressure cooker. Steamed bottle -gourd and fresh peas is added to this base, and simmered for a while.
Cut bottle-gourd 
After steaming in pressure cooker 
Fresh Peas in Tomato -lentil base 
Bottle-gourd is added and water is further added depending on consistency needed for the curry
Further, the curry is garnished with coriander leaves. Serve it with a bowl of rice or eat along with rotis or phulka.
Bottle-gourd and peas curry recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 cup cut bottle-gourd pieces
- 1 cup fresh or frozen green peas
- 2-3 medium sized tomatoes
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp cooked lentils
- 1 tsp mustard
- 1/2 tsp urad dal
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 inch ginger
- 1/2 tsp garlic paste or garlic powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp jaggery powder or 1 tsp coconut sugar
- 1(1/2) tsp garam masala [optional]
- 1/2 tsp dry mango
- 1-2 green chilli depending on the spice level
- salt to taste
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- 2-3 cups of water for cooking
- handful of coriander leaves
Preparation:
- Wash bottle-gourd. Cut and pressure cook the chopped vegetable for 2 whistles along with salt to taste. Add water to the level (or little less) of chopped vegetables in the cooker.
- In a blender, puree tomatoes along with ginger and chilies. I prefer to skip the chillies when I use garam masala.
- In a deep bottom pan, when the oil is heated – add mustard seeds, urad dal, and bay leaf. Let the bay leaf turn aromatic, mustard seed crackle, and urad dal turn golden. Add garlic and saute for a minute in medium flame.
- Add tomato puree to the seasoning, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add cooked lentils, and mix well.
- when the tomato base has thickened, add dry mango, cumin, coriander powder, jaggery, salt, and garam masala. Saute the mixture for a minute or two.
- Now, add cooked peas along with water. Let it boil. Add bottle-gourd and give a quick stir. Adjust the salt.
- Turn of the flame, garnish with coriander leaves.
- Serve hot with rice or roti.
Notes:
- Cooked lentils can be skipped, and an extra tomato can be added extra puree base.
- Peas can be replaced with any other vegetable of your choice. Spinach or carrots go well with bottle-gourd.
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you. Leave a comment below or share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #harshrurecipes.
Happy cooking!
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