Ash gourd-Capsicum Sabzi with Coriander Rotis

I know how to prepare ash gourd (white pumpkin) in a few different ways, all South Indian. Never had a North Indian sabzi, maybe not that popular a veggie there. I have seen bottle gourd prepared in different dishes.I decided to make a sabzi. I searched for recipes that I would be interested in but didn't find any. I did not know what I was going to make when I started, just was going with the basics.

I thought if the new sabzi is a flop, I at least needed something substantial to serve for lunch. So, I made coriander rotis and a carrot salad. Verdict in our house was 2 out of four. The kids did not like the sabzi. The rotis were a hit though. I wasn't surprised. I added a little more spice that usual to offset the blandness of ash gourd.This is the price I paid. I loved the sabzi though.

Ash gourd-Capsicum Sabzi

Ingredients:

Ash gourd finely diced   2 cups

capsicum(yellow,green)diced 1 cup

onion large diced    1

tomato diced     3

green chillies finely chopped  3

garam masala  1/2 tsp

coriander-cumin powder 1/2 tsp

cumin 1/4 tsp

salt to taste

oil  2-3 tsps

coriander leaves a few sprigs

Method:

1.In a wide mouthed saute pan, heat oil and add jeera.When it sputters add onion and fry till translucent.

2.Add the green chillies and capsicum and fry till it cooks a little, then add the tomatoes and stir fry till the raw smell of tomatoes is gone.

3.Add the diced ash gourd, and a little water, stir, cover and let cook for 5 minutes on a medium flame.

4.When the ashgourd is cooked it turns translucent. Add the spices and salt. Let them cook together without the lid.When most of the water evaporates then switch off heat.

5.Add coriander leaves and serve hot with rotis.

The capsicum and onion lend a sweet taste to an otherwise spicy sabzi.

Coriander Rotis

Ingredients:

Coriander leaves roughly chopped  2 cups

Whole wheat flour    3 cups

green chillies   3

ginger grated   2 tbsps

coriander-cumin powder  1tsp

hing 1/4  tsp

salt  1/2 tsp or to taste

oil  3 tsps

Method:

1.In a Mixer grinder, finely grind the coriander leaves, green chillies and ginger with a little water to a fine paste.

2.To the wheat flour add coriander-cumin powder, hing, salt and mix. Add the ground paste. Mix again thoroughly, add water slowly and knead to a firm dough. Let rest covered for a few minutes.

3.Take a lemon sized ball of the dough. Roll the dough into round shaped rotis.

4.On a heated griddle or a tawa roast the rotis till they are cooked on both sides.

5.Smear a little oil on the hot rotis and serve.

I served these with the sabzi and a simple carrot salad. It is just fresh grated carrots with a squeeze of lemon and salt. Susvaad.