Recipe: Bottle Gourd Salad {Keto/Low Carb}

Always in a quest to find the next low-carb vegetable, I looked at the bland and simple bottle gourd with fresh eyes. The usual way I make it is to either saute with some basic spices and also cook with lentils. Both were eaten the traditional South Indian way, with rice.

Last month, I was at a friend’s and she had made some dishes that were super tasty and very different. All Indian style, but not from the region I am from. It naturally piqued my taste buds and then the wheels in my head started churning. Once you get on the low carb way of eating, your brain is constantly looking for out of the box ways to eat the same old. How to make it palatable and work it in such a way that it suits your body as much as the tongue.

This dish is so easy, I worry some of you may send me stern emojis as replies or roll your eyes at me, but seriously, haven’t I ALWAYS said that I like my food simple, easy and quick and with not many additions. Most vegetables are just naturally delicious, killing it with an abundance of spices and other vegetables and grains just really goes against the natural flow of things, according to me at least.

Bottle Gourd is also called Calabash, Lauki, Doodhi, Sorakaya, Anapakaya (4 I know, am sure there are plenty more, India is fabulous that way!) The juice is also supposedly very healthy, plenty resources here.  and then here. 

NUTRITION VALUE OF BOTTLE GOURD

Am glad there’s some significant Vitamin C, Potassium, Calcium and also Magnesium if nothing else, coz it’s a gourd you know, and we know gourds are full of water.

Okay then, so this is what I did.

RECIPE:

• Ghee/Butter/Coconut Oil – 1 tbsp
• Grated or Spiralized Bottle gourd – 2 cups
• Salt and Chilli Powder to taste
• Chia seeds – 1 tbsp
• Crushed roasted peanuts – 2 tbsp
• Coriander leaves for garnish and taste of course.
• Lemon juice

PROCEDURE

I used the thin blade of the spiralizer and made noodles of 1/2 a bottle gourd. The yield was a good 2 cups. This gourd has much more water and isn’t very firm when its being spiralized, so the noodles broke fine. I let it sit in a colander for a few minutes so excess water could be drained.

In a pan, I added the fat (butter/ghee/coconut oil), and once hot, added in the spiralized bottle gourd. Keeping the flame high, I pan fried/stir fried it till the water was released and then dried out. Added a pinch of salt and some chilli powder. You could use garlic salt here, to give it that extra flavor instead of regular salt (I forgot :-))

I then added in Chia seeds and mixed it all up and shut the flame.

Roasted a couple of tbsp of peanuts, coarsely crushed them and added on top along with a few coriander leaves and a dash of lemon juice.

YUM!

Since the vegetable has no carb/fat/protein, the peanuts, chia seeds and the butter helped add that into the dish. Despite how small it looks, it fills one up real well!

Calling it a salad coz it can be eaten as is. If you must have some base, it still goes well with roti/rice/quinoa. Enjoy and let me know 🙂

Check the category Keto for more dishes. Also, check Instagram for the hashtag #VegKetoByRads for other simple keto/low carb dishes that I put together. They so quick and easy, it doesn’t feel right to make a post of them :/