Lau Bori(Lau with Vadis)

Ingredients:

½ of Lauki/Bottlegourd peeled and cutted in small pieces.

½ chopped tomato
3-4 green chilli slit through the middle.
1/2” grated ginger
2 small bay leaves
1” cinnamon stick
½ tsp jeera/cumin seeds
½ sp jeera/cumin powder

¼ tsp red chilli powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder
¼ tsp sugar

Salt to taste
Oil
½ cup Moong Dal Bori fried and crumbled. (The Bengali Vadis are known as Boris
A fistful finely chopped corriander leaves

Procedure:
Heat Oil in a Kadhai/Frying Pan. Fry the Bori till it is a nice warm rich brown. Remove and keep aside. Temper the oil with Bay leaf, Cinnamon Stick and 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.