Bottle gourd or lauki is a vegetable belongs to cucumber family. It is a source of vitamin C, Vitamin B, calcium and potassium. It serves no calories and hence it can be included in weight loss diet. It’s juice is good for diabetic condition. Many dishes can be prepared including bottle gourd in recipes. Bottle gourd dosa is similar to cucumber dosa, a way to consume bottle gourd and make dosa bit more tasty.

Other benefits of bottle gourd: During summer bottle gourd helps to keep body cool, and it is good for digestion, best remedy for urinary tract infections and it is an excellent vegetable for heart conditions.

Ingredients:

1.       Rice – 1.5 cups

2.       Bottle gourd -One

3.       Fenugreek seeds -1 tsp

4.       Salt – as per taste

5.       Grated coconut -1/4 cup

6.       Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Method:

1.       Wash and soak rice and fenugreek seeds overnight.

2.       Wash and remove the skin of bottle gourd. Taste a piece as sometimes cucumber family members exhibit bitter taste. If taste is not bitter then use center portion of bottle gourd with tender seeds for preparing dosa. Rest of the portion you can cut into small pieces to make curry or sambaar.

3.       Morning grind soaked mix. Add bottle gourd center portion with tender seeds into the mix, add salt and finish grinding. Batter consistency should be like dosa flour. *Option- you can spice it up by adding one or two green chilies!

4.       Add cumin seeds and mix the batter. Now batter is ready for preparing dosa. Further there is no need to ferment the batter. 

5.       Place doas pan/tava on medium heat, apply oil on the tava

6.       Pour a laddle of dosa batter on tava and spread evenly.

7.       Cook both sides to light golden brown.

8.       Serve hot dosa with sambar, coconut chutney or chutni powder.

Image credit: Salim_Khandoker, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons & https://in.pinterest.com/pin/319755642301017939/