Grandmother Azra Syed’s Bottle gourd with Nigella seeds
While the bottle gourd may be a humble, sometimes less popular vegetable, Mrs. Azra Syed’s recipe for lauki combined with nigella seeds makes this dish a family favorite.
Lauki or Bottle Gourd
Lauki aka bottle gourd or Calabash (Lagenaria siceraria) is a vine grown for its fruit. It is generally harvested young to be consumed as a vegetable in the Indian subcontinent and beyond, where it is an extremely popular vegetable. When fresh, the fruit has light green smooth skin and white flesh.
Peeling a fresh bottle gourd (2020)SOCH Outreach Foundation
Ingredients:
250g / 1/2 pound Bottle Gourd, washed, peeled and sliced,
1 onion (sliced and fried)
1 tsp (heaped) black onion seeds (kalonji)
1 tsp garlic puree
1 tsp ginger puree
1 tsp chilli powder
1 cup yogurt
salt to taste
4-5 tbsp cooking oil
Fresh bottle gourd is cut into slices (2020)SOCH Outreach Foundation
Whole bottle gourd is cut into half disks (2020)SOCH Outreach Foundation
After peeling the lauki, dissect crossways and slice into thin (5mm) half moon shape pieces.
Prepared bottle gourd slices ready for cooking (2020)SOCH Outreach Foundation
Sliced bottle gourd
Vegetable oil is slowly poured into a pan and heated (2020)SOCH Outreach Foundation
Pour oil into a pan
Slices of bottle gourd are lifted and place in oil (2020)SOCH Outreach Foundation
Bottle gourd slices are sauteed and steamed in their own juices (2020)SOCH Outreach Foundation
Cook till the Lauki is half cooked.
Nigella seeds (Kalonji) in a white ramekin (2020)SOCH Outreach Foundation
Meanwhile gather the remaining ingredients - Nigella Seeds
Ginger puree in a bowl (2020)SOCH Outreach Foundation
Ginger puree
A teaspoon of garlic puree being taken out of a bowl (2020)SOCH Outreach Foundation
Garlic puree
Fried onions on a plate ready for cooking (2020)SOCH Outreach Foundation
Fried onions
A teaspoon of chilli powder is added to a cooking vessel (2020)SOCH Outreach Foundation
Chilli powder
A heaped teaspoon of chilli powder in a cooking vessel (2020)SOCH Outreach Foundation
and add one by one to a pan with oil
Close Up of spices being sauteed in a cooking vessel (2020)SOCH Outreach Foundation
Fry till the raw aroma of spices mellows and cooks
Fried spices being added to a cooking pan of sliced bottle gourd (2020)SOCH Outreach Foundation
Add this spice mixture to the Lauki in a separate pan
Bottle gourd being cooked on a low flame with spices (2020)SOCH Outreach Foundation
Mix thoroughly and cook
Whipped yoghurt is added to the almost cooked bottle gourd (2020)SOCH Outreach Foundation
Add whipped yogurt
The final bottle gourd is almost ready to be eaten after the addition of spices and yogurt (2020)SOCH Outreach Foundation
Yogurt being mixed into cooked bottle gourd (2020)SOCH Outreach Foundation
Cook till the water from the yogurt dried and oil comes to the surface.
Fresh coriander leaves chopped and ready for cooking (2020)SOCH Outreach Foundation
A final garnish of coriander and chopped chillies is added to the final bottle gourd dish (2020)SOCH Outreach Foundation
Add fresh cilantro and chopped chillies to the bottle gourd when done.
Chef Azra Syed making the chapati roti (2020)SOCH Outreach Foundation
Chapatis make an excellent accompaniment to this dish.
Close Up of (Lauki) Bottle Gourd vegetable after plating, with Chicken Semini in the background (2020)SOCH Outreach Foundation
Ready to be served.
Watch our video to see how Azra Syed prepares Gourd
Produced by SOC Films
Project Director: Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy
Producers: Syed Ayub , Sameer Khan
Project Manager: Huma Shah
Director of Photography: Murtaza Ali
Photography: Karim Baig , Murtaza Ali
Photography Editor: Karim Baig
Additional Video & Photography: Khurram Victor
Exhibits Writer: Nazia Latif , Sameer Khan
Exhibits : Syed Ayub , Sameer Khan
Art Direction : Rahat Niazi
Associate Producer : Asad Pabani
Video Editors: Nina Zehri, Farhad Jamali
Color Grade: Sourath Behan
Assistant Editor: Mishal Adhami
Sound Design: Sameer Khan
