Sorekayi Kootu (Bottle gourd Curry)

You Need:

Bottle gourd (Sorekayi) - 2 cup, peeled, diced
White Lentils (Uddina bele) - 2 tbsp
Moong Dal (Hesaru bele) - 1/2 cup
Green Chillies - 3-4
Black Pepper Powder - 1 tsp
Freshly grated Coconut - 1/4 cup
Cilantro (Kottambari) - 1/4 cup

Curry leaves - 1 strand
Turmeric (Haldi) - 1/4 tsp
Cummin,Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Peanut - 1/4 cup (optional)

Salt - to taste or 1 tsp
Oil

You Do:

• Roast Urad dal until it turns golden brown and you sense the aroma.


• After the dal cools down, grind into a paste along with Green chillies, grated Coconut, Cilantro.


• In a Wok (Kadai), add 1 tbsp of Oil along with Cummin and Mustard. Once they start to splutter add Moong dal, roast until golden brown.


• Add diced Bottle gourd, cook until tender.


• Add ground paste along with Salt & 1-1/2 cups of water or desired consistency. Bring it to boil.


• Serve with Rice / Chapati. Enjoy!

Trivia:

The Bottle gourd probably originated in Africa and from there was widely distributed in pre-Columbian times, perhaps by floating on the seas. It traveled to India, where it has evolved into numerous local varieties, and from India to China, Indonesia, and as far as New Zealand. Archaeological remains show that the bottle gourd was used in Egypt about 3500 to 3300 B.C.
Bottle gourd also traveled to the New World. The dried gourds with viable seeds have survived in seawater for at least 200 days. Remains found in Mexico date from 7000 to 5500 B.C. and in Peru from about 10,000 B.C. The bottle gourd is thus an ancient crop, widespread and well used, from warm parts of the temperate zone throughout the dry and wet tropics. It is the only crop known to have been cultivated in pre-Columbian times in both the Old and New World. Recently, seeds and other remains of the gourd have turned up in several archaeological digs in Florida.