Lauki ki sabzi

Lauki or bottle-gourd is a tasteless vegetable. Infamous for being one of the most boring vegetables with a lot of household jokes being cracked about it ( remember the Cadbury's Dairy Milk ad??) , it is predominantly made in the northern parts of India as a side-dish for rotis. But being tasteless renders it as a versatile vegetable which assumes the taste of the masala it is cooked in.
It has never been made by my mother or mother-in-law all these years, but it recently made its entry into our kitchen after my delivery. It is considered helpful for lactation and hence the other name dhoodi.
Like the fate of all gourd vegetables, lauki made its way into becoming kootus all these days, when the tongue demanded a change in taste. I rummaged through the net to find a simple recipe using this vegetable, and here it is.

Ingredients:

1. Lauki/Soraikai - 250 g ( chopped into 1/2 inch cubes)
2. Onion - 1 large ( chopped finely)
3. Tomato - 1 large ( chopped finely)
4. Oil - 1 tbsp.
5. Ghee - 1 tsp. 
6. Jeera - 1/2 tsp.
7. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.
8. Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp.
9. Dhania powder - 1 tsp.
10. Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp.
11. Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp.
12. Salt - to taste

Procedure:

1. In a cooker, heat oil + ghee and temper with jeera seeds.
2. Add all the masala ( jeera, turmeric, dhania, chilli, hing) powders to this and fry lightly.
3. Add chopped onions and fry till they turn golden brown.
4. Add chopped tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes are tender.
5. Add chopped lauki and mix well with the onion-tomato masala.
6. Add little water ( around 1/2 cup; not too much since lauki leaves water) and salt and pressure cook for 3 whistles.
7. Open the cooker and mix well. If there is excess water, cook without lid till desired consistency is reached.
8. Serve with rotis.