Doodhi Bateta Nu Shaak - Bottle Gourd and Potato Curry

"Doodhi Bateta Nu Shaak" is a traditional vegetable curry from Gujarat. I tasted this dish for the first time a few years back when we were invited over for a pooja lunch at a friend's place. Though my friend is from the North, her MIL is a Gujarati and had prepared this simple yet delicious dish as part of the pooja naivedyam (as it is made without onions and garlic). I loved this shaak a lot and immediately requested her for the recipe. She willingly shared her recipe with me and I have been making this curry very often since then.



Ingredients -
1 medium sized doodhi/ Bottle Gourd
2 small boiled potatoes
Oil
Cumin seeds
Mustard seeds
Pinch of hing
Red chilli powder
Turmeric
Dhana jeera powder (coriander and cumin powder)
Cilantro
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste

Method -
1. Peel the outer skin of the doodhi and chop it into small pieces. Boil the doodhi
pieces with some water till tender
2. Chop 1 boiled potato into small pieces
3. Mash the other potato and add some water to it to make a smooth potato paste
Heat oil in a pan.
4. Then add some mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds splutter, add some cumin seeds
Add pinch of hing and little turmeric
5. Now add dhana jeera powder and red chilli powder and mix well. Turn off the
stove if needed or add few spoons of water to prevent the spices from burning.
6. Add potato pieces to the pan and mix well. Then add the boiled doodhi pieces and
also the potato paste to the pan. Add salt and sugar to taste and mix well.
7. Now cook the vegetables some more so they absorb the spices and form a delicious
thick gravy. Garnish with cilantro.
8. This shaak tastes best with hot chapattis and some yogurt.