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Lau khosha bhaji
Fried bottle gourd peel
লাউয়ের খোসা ভাজি (lauer khosha bhaji): crisp-tender bottle-gourd peel fried with nigella and chilli
Thrifty Bangladeshi cooks never throw away the green skin of a bottle gourd: once the flesh has gone into a curry or a milky lau ghonto, the peel is cut into fine strips and fried with nigella seeds and green chilli into a small, crunchy, slightly bitter bhaji. It is a classic of home kitchens rather than restaurants, made in winter when lau is cheap and young, and eaten with rice and dal as a little extra on the side. The strips stay pleasantly crisp at the edges and soft inside, with the earthy taste of the gourd. Skin from an old, hard gourd is tough and woody, which is the usual reason this fails, so use only young, pale-green gourds with a tender peel. Chef's tip: a few matchsticks of potato fried in with the peel help it brown evenly.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 3
Ingredients
- 5 ½ oz peel of 1 young bottle gourd (lau)scrubbed, cut into fine 5 cm strips
- 1 small potatocut into thin matchsticks
- 1 ½ tbsp mustard oil
- 1 /2 tsp nigella seeds (kalo jeera)
- 2 green chilliesslit
- 1 /4 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 /2 tsp salt
- 1 pinch sugar
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Method
0/3 doneStep 1: Heat 1 ½ tbsp mustard oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and add 1 /2 tsp nigella seeds (kalo jeera) and 2 green chillies; let them sizzle for 30 seconds.
1 minStep 2: Add 5 ½ oz peel of 1 young bottle gourd (lau), 1 small potato, 1 /4 tsp ground turmeric and 1 /2 tsp salt and stir-fry for 3 minutes.
3 minStep 3: Cover and cook over a low heat for 5 minutes until the potato is tender, then uncover, add 1 pinch sugar and fry for 2–3 minutes until the edges crisp. Serve with rice and dal.
6 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 90 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbs
- 10 g
- Fat
- 5 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does lau khosha bhaji take?
- About 20 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 3 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of potato?
- Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
- What can I use instead of ground turmeric?
- Leave it out (it mostly adds colour).
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