Bottle Gourd Soup

Ingredients:

1 medium size bottle gourd
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ginger paste (1/2-inch ginger, minced)
1 tsp garlic paste (2 cloves garlic, minced)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp red chili powder
1 green chile, minced
3 1/2 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Butter and corinader leaves to serve

Instructions:

Note
* A medium size, tender and firm bottle gourd is best for this soup. A buying tip is to look for thin bottle gourd with light green color skin which looks fresh without any dark spots on it.

Peel and scope the seeds off the bottle gourd. Cut into cubes.

In a deep bottom saucepan, add oil and cumin seeds. Once the seeds start to brown, add the ginger, garlic and chillies.Add the spices and bottle gourd. Mix well and let is cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add the chicken stock. and let it cook for 30 minutes without lid.

Add salt and pepper to taste and cook covered for another 15-20 minutes until the bottle gourd is cooked through and it is fork tender. Take it off the heat and add the lemon juice.

Garnish with coriander and add a dash of butter. Don’t omit the butter. I’m sure there’s a study that says little butter is good for you. I like to sip on it just like a soup but M likes to have it with khichdi ( Indian rice and lentils) and Indian mango pickle.

Serves 4.

From journeykitchen.com