Bottle gourd (also known as surakkai, lauki, dudhi, or calabash) is another popular ingredient in the Indian diet. Surakkai comes in a number of different shapes – it is a white fleshed, green skinned vegetable and has a slightly sweet taste. It also has a high water content and is good source of fibre, Vitamin C, iron and magnesium.
This summer we planted surakkai seeds and have been lucky to have harvested quite decent sized vegetables. Whilst there is no shortage of supply of fresh surakkai at the market or oriental greengrocers, nothing beats the sweetness of a vegetable that has been grown and freshly picked from your own backyard!
At home, we enjoy it in a number of different ways (in kurmas, avvial, poriyal, kootu, sambhar, etc ) and because of its slight flavour it absorbs and marries well with other vegetables and seafood (particularly dried shrimp). Of course, when I was younger, surakkai wasn't all that much of a favourite – but I must say, I able to appreciate the coolness of this vegetable and the varieties it can be cooked and enjoyed!
The following recipe for surakkai kozhukattai is something of an old-fashioned, warm you to the bones, type of dish. A Grandma’s Special infact!
Scroll down for the recipe in Tamil.
