Lau torkari - Bottle gourd curry

Version 1: Heat Oil in a Kadhai/Frying Pan. Fry the Bori till it is a nice warm rich brown. Remove and keep aside Separately saute onion. Temper the oil with Bay leaf, Cinnamon Stick and Whole Cumin seed When the cumin starts sputtering add the finely chopped tomato and green chillies. Sauté till the tomatoes are soft and mushy with no raw smell. Add the chopped bottle gourd and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the grated ginger, the cumin powder and red chilli powder(optional) Add a little turmeric, add salt and mix well Sauté for 2-3 minutes and cover and cook. Intermittently remove the cover and give it a good stir. You don’t need to add water as bottle gourd releases water on cooking. If the bottlegourd is dried up or not that fresh you may need to add little water while cooking. When the bottlegourd is cooked add sugar and cook for a minute. The water should have dried up by now and the result would be a dish with no gravy but moist. Now crumble the fried bori on top Garnish with fresh coriander leaves Version 2: Everything is same as the Lau-Bori recipe. Except for the Bori you need about ½ cup of shrimp. Wash the shrimp and mix with a little turmeric and salt and let it marinade for 30 minutes. Fry them to a light yellow and remove and keep aside. Cook Bottlegourd exactly as above. Instead of the bori, mix the shrimp with the bottlegourd at the second last step. Sauté for a minute and you are done.