Bottle Gourd or Lau (Bangla: লাউ) is very common winter vegetable in Bangladesh. I have mentioned it in my other post that the whole plant and all parts of fruit are edible. We Bangladeshis are so amazed by this that we even have a folk song about it. So today I am writing a recipe of bottle gourd peels, which is normally considered as waste in western countries. Unlike other gourds, Bottle gourd’s skin is very smooth, so it has easily taken place in our dietary plans!

Bottle gourd varies in size, color and shape. The one I got from Bangladeshi store is bright green (almost pale) and long in shape. If you decide to eat the skin, all you have to do is wash the bottle gourd well and instead of using a peeler, use a knife to peel the skin. In this way you can keep some flesh on the skin which would give a nice texture when you cook them.

The recipe is very simple, besides bottle gourd peels, you only need some basic ingredients like onion, garlic, chili, turmeric powder and salt and of course vegetable oil.

What you need to do first is slice the peels thin. As you can see the peel is very light but as it has some flesh on, it will give some nice texture. Slice evenly to ensure thorough cooking as we will not use any water for this recipe. If you want to make a spread/bhorrta of this skin, then you can use a peeler, but that’s another recipe.

When you are done with chopping the bottle gourd peels, chop onions and garlic. Take a medium deep pan, add vegetable oils in medium heat. When oil the heated, add sliced onions. Fry them until golden. Then add garlic and cook until golden too.

When onion and garlic are nicely golden brown, add sliced bottle gourd peel, turmeric and salt. Stir everything very well.

After few minutes, it will start to change color to more translucent. At this point, cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes in low heat. It will help in cooking the skins, as they will release a lots of water.

After 10 minutes of simmering in low heat, it looks slightly roasted and reddish. You can take them off the pan now but I will cook more without covering them to to release extra water and make the bhaji drier.

After 10 minutes, the gourd skin looks nicely cooked and roasted! Check salt and add more if needed!

I made a mistake of putting lots of oil, so I will drain the oil and take the peel fry out with a help of spatula.

The bottle gourd peel fry or Lau Chokla stir Bhaji is ready to serve. Eat with rice or tortilla or hand made flat bread (ruti).

Recipe: 2-3 Servings Prepping time: 8-10 minutes, Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients: Peels of 1 big Bottle Gourd/Lau Spice and Condiments: 20ml Vegetable Oil (Olive/Mustard/Coconut oil, anything will do) 1 medium Onion 1 clove Garlic 1tbs fine Salt 1tsp Turmeric powder 2-3 Chili (optional)

Instruction: 1. Rinse bottle gourd. Peel the peel with knife with some flesh on. Slice them thinly. Also slice onions and garlic. 2. Heat oil in a pan and add onion. Cook until golden over medium low heat. add garlic and fry them golden too. 3. Add sliced gourd peel, turmeric powder, chili and salt to pan. Keep stirring frequently until peel get translucent. 4. Cover the pan and simmer for 10 minutes to ensure proper cooking. Stir often in between. 5. After 10minutes, when gourd peels get cooked and soft, stir fry for few more minutes to release extra moisture. When they look nicely roasted and the oil separating out, take off from the heat. Serve warm with rice or ruti!