Air fryer lauki kofta recipe, Bottle gourd kofta curry

Air fryer lauki kofta/ Bottle gourd kofta curry is a flavorful and delicious gravy/ curry where round shaped cooked kofta balls prepared with grated lauki/ bottle gourd is dunked / drenched in a tangy and slightly sweet onion tomato based gravy. Might sound a little confusing but trust me it isn’t that TDS as it looks and even beginners will be able to make a pro version of this simple curry. So the kofta balls that I mentioned in the so called introduction is usually deep fried but as the title says this is a non fried and a healthy version of regular lauki kofta. This lauki kofta curry goes well with Jeera rice, Whole wheat naan, Naan, Italian herbs naan, Lachha paratha, Phulka, Phool makhana roti.

So I dint even think to make a dish like this until I found a bottle gourd lying in the fridge for more than a week, which I hesitated to cook as I was really feeling bored to cook the same curry/ paratha/subji with it hence was browsing through youtube and found this kofta curry super fascinating so I decided to make my own version of it and was truly a hit at home. I just thought to keep this recipe healthy for no reason so tried making kofta in the air fryer. Earlier I had posted few recipe like these as well AIR FRYER VEG MANCHURIAN and AIR FRYER CHICKEN 65.

I have also added a picture of fried lauki kofta that might be useful if you like to make this gravy in traditional method. I f you are planning to make this kofta recipe make sure to start its preparation ahead of time as much time will be consumed in straining the water from lauki/ bottle gourd, also choose just ripe lauki as it will contain less water in it compared to overripe ones. So let’s get to the making of non fried lauki kofta!

Air fryer lauki kofta recipe, Bottle gourd kofta curry

2020-08-06 23:43:55

Serves 3

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

30 min

Total Time

45 min

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

30 min

Total Time

45 min

For kofta

1. Lauki/ Sorakkay/ Bottle gourd- 1
2. Besan/ Gram flour - ¼ cup
3. Red chili powder – ½ tsp
4. Salt – to taste
5. Garam masala powder – ½ tsp
6. Oil – ¼ tsp

For sauce

1. Onion – 1
2. Tomatoes – 2
3. Ginger garlic paste – ½ to 1 tsp
4. Red chili powder – ½ tsp
5. Salt – to taste
6. Garam masala powder – ½ tsp
7. Coriander powder – ½ tsp
8. Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
9. Kasuri methi – 1 tbsp
10.Cumin powder - ½ tsp
11.Curd/ Dahi – 2 tbsp
12. Sugar – ½ tsp
13. Oil – 1 to 2 tsp

Note

* 1 cup = 235 ml

Instructions

Peel the skin of bottle gourd and grate it. Add little salt to the lauki and leave it aside for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes squeeze the excess water from the grated bottle gourd using a strainer. If the bottle is just ripe there will be very less water to squeeze but if the bottle gourd is very ripe/ overripe it is going to leave out 2 to 4 cups of water at least so be prepared to have extra time of work😀 Keep the lauki water aside as we will use it to make the gravy.
Now in a bowl add the water squeezed out grated lauki, gram flour, red chili powder, salt and garam masala powder. Mix well.
Now take 2 tbsp of mixture and make it into balls by using fingers. Keep the balls ready.
Preheat Air fryer at 400. This should take about 5 to 10 minutes depending on the setting.
When the air fryer is preheated brush a tsp oil on the baking rack (prevents kofta balls from sticking)/ place parchment paper on the rack then place the kofta balls one by one evenly without overcrowding. Do not place really big chunks as the inside might not get cooked fully. Brush a tsp of oil over the kofta balls as well. Now cook for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes remove the rack from the air fryer and flip the kofta balls and cook for 2 more minutes again. After 2 minutes you will notice that the kofta balls are evenly browned and cooked with crisp exterior. If you feel the inside is not cooked fully cook for 2 more minutes and it should be perfect. Remove the kofta balls from the air fryer and keep it aside.
Alternatively, you can try this method as well. Heat oil in a frying pan and drop the kofta balls one by one into hot oil. Fry in medium flame until golden brown. When it turns golden brown remove it from oil and transfer it to a plate with paper towel to drain excess oil. Keep it aside.
Heat a pan with oil to it add chopped onion. Saute well for a minute. Now add ginger garlic paste. Saute well till the raw smell goes. When the raw smell is gone add chopped tomato and cashews. Saute well for about 4 – 5 minutes in low to medium flame. When the onions and tomatoes look cooked add turmeric powder, salt, chilli powder and cumin powder. Mix well well and saute for few seconds. Now put off the flame and allow the mixture to cool down.
Now add this cooled mixture to a blender and grind it into fine paste adding little water. Keep this ground paste aside. I used little lauki water while grinding the paste.
Now in the same pan heat a 2 tsp oil and add ground paste and mix well. Now to the mixture add curd, cumin powder and coriander powder. Mix well and lauki water which is around ½ cup water to get right consistency. Allow the mixture to boil well for 2 minutes.
After 2 minutes of boiling add kasuri methi and mix well. Finally add air fried lauki kofta add ½ tsp sugar to the gravy. Allow it to boil for a minute, when everything looks combined put off the flame. Serve it hot with main dish of your choice.

By Sandhya Riyaz

Sandhya's recipes https://www.sandyathome.com/

How to make Air fryer lauki kofta with step by step images

Peel the skin of bottle gourd and grate it. Add little salt to the lauki and leave it aside for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes squeeze the excess water from the grated bottle gourd using a strainer. If the the bottle is just ripe there will be very less water to squeeze but if the bottle gourd is very ripe/ overripe it is going to leave out 2 to 4 cups of water at least so be prepared to have extra time of work😀 Keep the lauki water aside as we will use it to make the gravy.
Now in a bowl add the grated lauki, gram flour, red chili powder, salt and garam masala powder. Mix well.
Now take 2 tbsp of mixture and make it into balls by using fingers. Keep the balls ready.
Preheat Air fryer at 400F/ 200 C. This should take about 5 to 10 minutes depending on the setting. When the air fryer is preheated brush a tbsp oil on the baking rack (prevents kofta balls from sticking)/ place parchment paper on the rack then place the kofta balls one by one evenly without overcrowding. Do not place really big chunks as the inside might not get cooked fully. Brush a tsp of oil over the kofta balls as well. Now cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes remove the rack from the air fryer and flip the kofta balls and cook for 1 to 2 more minutes again. After 2 minutes you will notice that the kofta balls are evenly browned and cooked with crisp exterior. If you feel the inside is not cooked fully cook for 2 more minutes and it should be perfect. Remove the kofta balls from the air fryer and keep it aside. Every air fryer is different so make sure to keep an eye on the kofta.
Alternatively, you could try this method as well. Heat oil in a frying pan and drop the kofta balls one by one into hot oil. Fry in medium flame until golden brown. When it turns golden brown remove it from oil and transfer it to a plate with paper towel to drain excess oil. Keep it aside.
Heat a pan with oil to it add chopped onion. Saute well for a minute. Now add ginger garlic paste. Saute well till the raw smell goes.
When the raw smell is gone add chopped tomato and cashews. Saute it well for about 4 – 5 minutes in low to medium flame. When the onions and tomatoes look cooked add turmeric powder, salt, chilli powder and garam masala powder. Mix well well and saute for few seconds. Now put off the flame and allow the mixture to cool down.
Now add this cooled mixture to a blender and grind it into fine paste adding little water. Keep this ground paste aside. I used little lauki water while grinding the paste.
Now in the same pan heat a 2 tsp oil and add ground paste and mix well. Now to the mixture add curd, cumin powder and coriander powder. Mix well and add lauki water which is around ½ cup water to get right consistency. Allow the mixture to boil well for 2 minutes.
After 2 minutes of boiling add kasuri methi and mix well. Finally add air fried lauki kofta add ½ tsp sugar to the gravy. Allow it to boil for a minute, when everything looks combined put off the flame. Serve it hot with main dish of your choice.