Lauki ke Kofte or ghiya kofte are Indian style vegan meatballs curry.Serve fried vegetarian meatballs or bottle gourd kofta in spicy gravy with flatbread or rice instead of paneer for a change. Surely wins hearts and tummies. A great gram flour or besan based curry for a party. Hence, it is also vegan and gluten-free. However, with an active lifestyle taking a slow start these days. Although deep fried koftas taste great, it is high time we start eating healthy.It is time to air fry or bake instead of deep frying whenever possible. Whether you make them by frying or baking, this a dish for keeps.
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Ingredients
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For traditional fried kofte
Bottle gourd/lauki/doodhi
Chickpea flour/Besan
Cumin seeds
Coriander seeds
Red chilli powder
Ginger-chillI
Coriander leaves finely chopped
Salt
Oil for deep frying
Addition for air-fryer /oven-baked kofte
Maize flour/makai flour
Rice flour
For gravy:
Oil
Onion
Tomato puree
Spices for gravy
Cumin seeds
Red chili powder
Turmeric powder
Coriander powder
Garam masala
Salt
Water
Chopped coriander
How to make ghia kofte? (Traditional method)
This is the traditional style -frying method.
- Peel and grate bottle gourd,add salt.You may squeeze the water and use that in the gravy.Or you may not squeeze the excess water, then you need to add enough besan.
2. Make a round smooth ball by taking small amount of dough.
3. Heat oil in a pan. Fry the koftas until golden brown. 
4. Remove once golden brown. Pat on a tissue to remove excess oil. 
How to make lauki kofta in air fryer?
For air fryer version
How to make bottlegourd kofta in an oven?
- If you want to make lauki ke kofte in an oven, pre-heat the oven at 180 degree C.
- Place the kofte on a tray lined with baking sheet (with holes).
- Bake them for 10 mins.
- Brush oil and bake for 15 mins. Add to gravy just before serving.
How to make gravy for kofte?
- In a pan, heat oil add onions and let it brown. Add tomato puree and mix well.
2. Let it cook until the oil oozes out, add spices.
3. Add water and let it come to a boil.
4. Once the gravy is ready,add kofta balls to it,let it simmer for 5 mins. Serve hot with roti/rice.
Read the recipe of lauki ke kofte below
Lauki Kofta recipe
Equipment
- saucepan/kadai for a traditional method frying
- or air fryer for a low oil version
Ingredients
For traditional fried kofte
- 2 cups grated Bottle gourd/lauki/doodhi
- ½ cup chickpea flour Besan
- ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
- ¼ teaspoon Coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon Red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 Green chilli finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon coriander leaves finely chopped
- Salt to taste
- Oil for deep frying
Addition for air-fryer /oven-baked kofte
- ¼ cup maize flour in addition to above kofta ingredients makai flour
- 2 tablespoon rice flour
For gravy:
- 2 tablespoon Oil
- 1 medium Onion chopped finely
- 4 medium sized Tomatoes pureed
Spices for gravy
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds/jeera
- 1 teaspoon Red chili powder/lal mirch
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder/haldi
- 1.5 teaspoon Coriander powder/dhaniya
- ½ teaspoon Garam masala
- Salt to taste
- ½ cup Water
For Garnish:chopped coriander
Instructions
Traditional fried version
- Heat oil in a frying pan over medium flame for deep frying.
- Peel and grate bottle gourd.
- Squeeze out the water completely. Use it to make gravy(optional)
- Add all other ingredients except salt and mix well.
- It should have a thick consistency to make round shaped balls.(If the mixture is too loose,add 1-2 tablespoon of chickpea flour and mix well.)
- Take a handful of mixture in a separate bowl. To this add salt and mix well.
- Grease your palms with oil and divide the salted mixture in 4-5 portions.
- Turn them into round balls.
- Fry these balls in the hot oil. Stir occasionally and deep-fry until they turn little brown and crisp.
- Take them out, drain excess oil and place them over kitchen tissue in a plate.
Method for gravy:
- Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat.
- Add onions and stir-fry until it turns light pink in color.
- Add red chili powder, turmeric powder, and coriander powder in the fried onions.Mix well and cook for another minute.
- Add tomato paste, salt & garam masala.
- Fry until material leaves the sides of the pan.It takes 7-8 minutes.
- Add water (drained out from the grated gourd initially) and ½ cup water.
- Stir, simmer and cook for 10-12 minutes more. Don’t cover the pan with any lid.
- Drop the fried koftas in the gravy and cook for 5 mins.
- Make sure that the koftas are fully submerged in the gravy.
- Turn off the heat and transfer it to the serving bowl.
- Garnish with chopped coriander.
- Serve hot with rice or tandoori roti
For air fryer version
- Peel and grate bottle gourd,mix salt.
- Squeeze out the water completely.Use it to make gravy. (optional)
- Add all other ingredients and mix well. It should have a thick consistency to make round shaped balls
- Roll it into small balls and place it in airfryer basket. Repeat for remaining mixture.
- Air fry them at 200 degree C for 8 mins.
- Brush oil on the kofta and air fry again for 10-12 mins.
- Once ready, add to gravy just before serving.
For baking in a fan-forced oven
- Make the kofta as per the air fryer version.
- Pre-heat the oven at 180 degree C .Bake them for 10 mins.
- Brush oil and bake for 15 mins. Add to gravy just before serving.
Notes
Benefits of bottle gourd & uses
Lauki also known as 'Ghiya'/'Dudhi'/'Opo'/long melon. Cooling, calming, diuretic and anti-bilious. Most people think eat it during sickness,but it is highly nutritious. It is also a great substitute to potatoes in many gravies. You can even add a piece to pav bhaji or to tomato soup. Excellent during pregnancy and post-partum. Diet watchers as it is very low calorie. Some people also add a bit to their juice. However,you need to check it is fresh and not bitter when eating raw. You should add only a small quantity to your juice as it is di-uretic and might upset the stomach. You can also make a lot of recipes from it. Make a barfi or sweet or make a thepla, gluten-free flatbread out of it.You can make simple curries with lentils like lauki channa or enjoy it as a simple curry or sabji.
Substitutions
If you do not get bottle gourd near you, you can grate a zucchini for the curry. You can also make
- Malai kofta (vegetarian and slightly sweeter)
- Mushroom kofta
- Cabbage kofta if you love your meatballs.
If you are a non-vegan, you can temper the curry with ghee or add a spoonful of butter in the end.
Variations
You can make the curry as spicy as per your taste by adding hot red chilly powder.You can also add garam masala powder if you like. Adding a teaspoon garam masala always makes a mild curry bit spicier.If you like a more milder version, use Kashmiri red chilly powder or paprika in the curry.
Equipment
You can use a kadai/deep sauce pan to make the kofta curry in the traditional method. Use an air-fryer to make a low -oil but great taste kofta curry recipe.
Storage
Store the kofta separately if making in a large quantity. Store it in a clean air-tight jar. Make a fresh curry and add kofta to it whenever you need.This way you can enjoy lauki kofta curry even mid-week.
Top tip
1. You may drain out the excess water from the lauki by pressing the mixture between your palms. If the water is not drained out then it will make the mixture more loose making it difficult to make round balls.Grated lauki when mixed with salt starts to release water very fast. Hence, do not keep the mixture for long.You may keep the water in the mix and add more dry flour of besan/makai.
2. Add just one kofta in the hot oil (if frying) to check if it breaks. If it does, add a little chickpea flour.
3. Make sure that the kofta is fried on medium flame. If you fry them on high flame then it will turn the balls dark brown quickly but will remain uncooked from inside.
4. You can make the gravy with tomatoes,ginger and chillies only and avoid onion & garlic.
5. Add the koftas right before the serving, otherwise kofta will absorb almost all the gravy and becomes soft and soggy.
6. You can also prepare the meatballs before hand and keep it in refrigerator. Use it for a dinner anytime mid week.
7.Once you have added salt and other ingredients, use it immediately to fry/bake the koftas else they will become more loose.
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