Bottle gourd and shrimp: Bangla classic

A relative was kind enough to share some of the surplus from their wonderful garden this week. Lau, or bottlegourd, is one of my favorite veggies and my mom makes a delicious dish with it and shrimp. I found a similar recipe online and had a yummy home cooked meal that reminded me of home. http://weekendtongueteaser.blogspot.com/2012/03/bangla-classic-lau-chingri-shrimp-with.html?m=1

Ingredients:

1 medium Lau/Bottlegourd (approx. 3 to 4 cups)- Peeled and cut into chunky cubes
2 cups of shrimp
1 cup of onion
1/2 a teaspoon of turmeric
1/2 a teaspoon of garlic paste
3/4 of a teaspoon of coriander powder
4 to 5 green chilies
2 tablespoon of chopped green coriander leaves
2 to 3 tablespoon of oil
Salt to taste

Cooking process:

First, fry the onions till golden brown. After that, put the turmeric, coriander powder and garlic paste in. Then, as the spices are mixed in nicely, throw in the shrimps and cook them till they turn pink(for 2 to 3 minutes). Once done, throw in the Lau/Bottlegourd. Bottlegourd contains a lot of moisture, so, no need to put in extra water. Put salt and put the lid on and let it cook till the bottlegourd becomes absolutely tender. Now, if your bottlegourd gives you trouble in becoming tender, you can put some water. When the bottlegourd becomes tender and the gravy has reached a nice thick consistency, put the green chilies and the coriander leaves in.

Finally, serve it with steamed rice and enjoy this classic Bangla comfort food.