This malaikari is inspired by everyone’s favourite – the BongMom! Though I’d admit, I did not follow her, sorry her Mum’s recipe to the T. I did minor hera-pheri here and there. Somewhere at the back of my mind, I had my Mum’s Chingri Malaikari too. I am hoping I will be pardoned for the culinary license I took.
The Lau’er Malaikari or Lauki (Bottle gourd) cooked in coconut milk is a very new recipe for me. Probably that’s what makes it all the more interesting. The anticipation of something unusual.
Ingredients for BongMom-inspired Lau’er Malaikari are:
1 small lau/lauki, peeled and diced
1 medium size red onion made into paste
1 can of coconut milk (I use the Thai variety)
1 tablespoon ginger paste
3-4 whole green chillies
1 tablespoon mixed whole garam masala spices (cloves, green and black cardamoms, cinnamon)
2-3 bay
Half teaspoon red chilli powder
Half teaspoon turmeric
4-5 tablespoons desi ghee
Sugar
Salt
Heat the ghee in a thick pan. Add a pinch of sugar and let it caramelize. Now add the onion paste and the whole garam masala spices and bay. Very soon the onion paste will start turning a darker shade of pink. Keep moving the onion in the ghee and the spices, till you have a line of ghee on the sides. This will also indicate that the onion paste is cooked and does not have its conspicuous raw smell. Add a couple of green chillies if you want to at this stage. Do this cooking on low-medium heat. We don’t want the onions burnt.
Now add the cubed/ diced lau pieces. Mix with the onion paste. After about 2-3 minutes, add the ginger paste and salt. Add the red chilli and turmeric powder. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes.
Open the lid to see that a lot of juices and moisture from the lau has been released. Cook on high for a minute or two and pour the coconut milk.
Let the coconut milk come to a rumbling boil, then reduce the heat. Let the lau cook in the coconut milk for about 8-10 minutes. You will see a thin layer of the ghee surface on top. Add sugar and more salt if necessary.
Move around the thickened coconut milk and lau pieces. Pray that you have done a good job and turn the heat off.
Your Lau’er Malaikari is now ready to be eaten with plain, white rice.
Thank you, BongMom for being an inspiration and a friend I can run to with my cribs and complains.
1 comment:
thats a new kind... looks so yum!
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