Once every two weeks I like going to the Farmers Market and choosing from the hundreds of varieties the freshest vegetables. I absolutely love to choose from the local farmers and boosting the local economy. My mom and I would always go to the local market and buy fresh green veggies. We used to have lots of fun doing it together. I miss it so much these days. There is this one Farmer that sells these huge bottle gourds. I absolutely love them as they are so tender and so fresh. I like to use it in sambar or pulusu but I was so bored of it so I decided to try another way. I don’t usually stray from my comfort zone, but I thought to try something different. I saw this recipe heading on Pinterest and decided to follow my own recipe and make it in my own way. I wish I knew which was the website I picked it up from (when I Google tons come up) because it would be nice to credit the original recipe.

My mom didn’t stray from Andhra food. She stuck to what she knew and only started learning more as we begged her to. I still remember the first time she made chole. It was like we never ate it before (we ate it millions of times) and were like hungry wolves. But it made her so happy as we showered her with compliments. I hope Arlo does the same for me ten years from now. For now, if he likes it he has two bites, if he doesn’t like it he stuffs it in his ear. He doesn’t like sorakaya that much, but if I make it into pulusu he will eat it up, but again it depends on his mood. VJ doesn’t like it plain and I needed to make it edible enough with roti. My mom method is pretty simple but has absolutely no taste, but is very healthy. So I decided to stray off course and make something tasty. And I got ‘this is so good‘ from VJ three times. Though I made this for roti, it tasted better with rice.

Ingredients

Sorakaya (Lauki/Indian Squash) – 1 small diced into cubes (I used half of a big one)

Senagapappu (Channa Dal) – 1 and a half cup (soaked for at least 3 hours)

Tomato – 3 (chopped into bite-sized pieces)

Garlic – 1 whole bulb (chopped or paste)

Green Chilies – 4 or 5 (chopped thinly)

Turmeric – 1/4 teaspoon

Coriander Powder – 1/2 tablespoon

Red Chili Powder – 1/2 tablespoon (Optional)

Salt – As required

Mustard Seeds – 1 teaspoon

Cumin Seeds – 1 teaspoon

Asafoetida – 1/4 teaspoon

Ghee – 1 tablespoon (optional)

Oil – 1 tablespoon

Water – 1 and a half cup

Coriander Leaves – 3 Tablespoons (Optional – for Garnish)

How to make

Step 1: In a Pressure Cooker, once hot, add oil and ghee. As the ghee melts, add the asafoetida and cumin seeds. As the cumin seeds start spluttering add the garlic.

Step 2: As the garlic is turning brown, add in the tomato. Once the tomato turns mushy, add the green chilies.

Step 3: Add the turmeric and coriander powder. Now add in the channa dal and the red chili powder and give it a stir.

Step 4: Add in the sorakaya, and mix it well. Add 1 and a half cup of water, put back the lid. Let 4 whistles come and then let it cool down.

Step 5: Once the steam is released open the pressure cooker, add coriander leaves and mix it a bit.

Step 6: Serve with rice or roti.

Tips:

1. Instead of sorakaya you can use beerakaya (Ridge Gourd) and follow the exact process.