Bottle gourd/Lauki Soup
Another easy peasy soup recipe in the blog. I think I would rate this as the most delicious soup of the blog. It’s creamy, velvety smooth and absolutely yummy. And ofcourse, it’s healthy and very low in calories, making it ideal during your weight loss programme. You can check out on other bottle gourd recipes like lauki paratha, lauki chanadal sabzi, lauki kofta etc. Bottle gourd is an excellant coolant, helps to treat urinary tract infections
and helps to cure tummy disorders. It also keeps our heart healthy and relieves stress.
The below recipe makes two large servings. If you like clear soup, then simply strain it after cooking and do not make a puree. Still it would taste good as the entire flavour of the bottlegourd would be infused in the clear broth.
Ingredients:
- Bottle gourd 1 small
- Salt to taste
- Onion 1
- Garlic 1 clove
- Pepper powder 1/2 tsp
- Ghee/clarified butter 2 tsp
- Coriander leaves for garnish
- Shallots 2-3
- Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
- Red chili flakes a pinch
Method:
- Peel and cut the bottle gourd into small pieces. Take around 2-3 cups.
- Slice the onion, garlic and chop the shallots into small pieces.
- Heat a teaspoon of ghee in a pressure pan and saute the sliced onion and bottle gourd for 2-3 minutes.
- Pour around two cups of water. Add salt and cook till they are soft and tender.
- Puree it in a mixer jar or using an immersion blender.
- Boil this puree for 4-5 minutes. Check salt and add more water to adjust the consistency. Switch off the flame.
- Add a spoon of ghee in a small tadka pan and add the cumin seeds.
- When they splutter, add the shallots, red chili flakes, a pinch of salt and fry till golden.
- Add this to the soup. Finally garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and pepper powder.
- Serve it piping hot with a choice of your home made bread.
