Bottle Gourd (Lauki) Soup

Bottle gourd, known as Lauki or doodhi in north India and as "aanapakaya" or "sorakaaya" in Hyderabad is not really known to be a "soup" vegetable - but I firmly believe that any vegetable can be souped or stewed :) Bottle gourd is mostly water, so this soup is very light and easy on the palate. It has no definite taste of its own, so based on the seasonings or broth you use, the taste will vary. I flavor it with cinnamon and cloves and use just a hint of salt.

Ingredients:
1 small bottle gourd, peeled and diced. Discard seeds.
1 stick cinnamon
4-5 cloves
1 tsp oil
salt to taste
water for desired consistency

Method:
1. In a microwave safe dish, add the bottle gourd pieces. Cover and cook for 7-8 minutes, until pieces are soft and a fork pierces through easily.
2. Allow to cool and puree adding a little water until you have a fine paste.
3. In a pan, heat 1 tsp oil and add cinnamon and cloves to it. When the cloves are "fat", add the puree and salt and stir well. The soup will "bubble". If you want a finer consistency, add water and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes till the soup has an even consistency and the water is not floating on top.

You can also pressure-cook the bottlegourd on stove-top and follow steps 2 and 3 after that.