A slightly different variety grows in India and is called Lauki. It is believed to be very good for lots of things including digestion and blood pressure and is a staple vegetable. We have grown it here in Victoria, Australia for three seasons now with varying results. It loves the heat and seems to require humidity for the fruit to develop.
And when we are lucky enough to pick one we cook up a real treat... as we did last week. Here are some of our favourite recipes...
Lauki Kopta:
http://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/recipe/...naKhazana.html
This recipe is close to how we make it, but for the masala we add a tsp of cumin seed to the oil first and brown it, and then add ginger and garlic with the onions. We use about half the tomato that is suggested, and don't stuff the kopte with tamarind.
Lauki sabzi (sabzi means veg curry):
http://www.northindiancooking.com/la...lon-ghiya.html
You don't need a pressure cooker, just a small wok or frypan. In india they use an aluminium or steel kadhai and when all the ingredients are added just cover and stir from time to time till the lauki is soft. Again, after the cumin seed add onion, ginger and garlic and cook till brown.
Lauki and channa dahl:
http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/lau...-curry-recipe/
This recipe is near perfect, only we add garlic as well and instead of garam masala we add a small teaspoon and a half of coriander powder.
And this recipe looks great...
Lauki with potato and peas:
http://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/recipe/...-FoodFood.html
Here we would use the pressure cooker because it will cook the potatoes quicker, but again it's optional and I would chop (not grate) one onion and only use two small to medium tomatoes.
Hing in all the recipes is optional, (good for digestion as are all the spices).
YUM!!!
Here are some growing in our back yard two years ago when we had a very humid summer...