Bottle Gourd Meat Recipe with Freshly Ground Masala

Bottle gourd with meat is one of the best combinations I make, and it’s very tasty with rice, bread, etc.

As we know, bottle gourd doesn’t have a strong flavor of its own; that’s why I use many spices for flavor.

This combination also keeps the final meal lighter than many all-meat curries without feeling like anything is missing.

Ingredients

For the ground masala:

• 3 tsp whole coriander seeds
• 10 dried red chilies
• 2 medium onions, roughly chopped
• 10 cloves of garlic
• 2 inches of fresh ginger

For cooking:

• 500g meat, bone-in pieces (mutton or goat works well here)
• 700g bottle gourd, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 100g mustard oil
• 2-inch piece of cinnamon
• 6 cloves
• 15 black peppercorns
• 1 black cardamom
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp salt (for the roasting stage)
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp salt (added with the bottle gourd)
• 1 glass of water

Grind the Masala Before the Stove Comes On

You have to grind the coriander seeds, red chilies, onions, garlic, and ginger together into a thick paste. 

In a blender, you have to add just enough water to get everything moving, but I’d keep the water minimal so the paste stays thick, because a thin paste won’t coat the meat well; also, it’ll be hard to roast.

Also, taste the paste before adding (just a small amount with a finger, to check the heat level). 

I’m okay with spicy, so I used 10 dried red chilies with this quantity of onion and garlic, and it wasn’t overwhelming for me.

If your chilies are small and very pungent, use just eight. If they’re larger and milder, keep all ten and add one more if you want it hotter.

Add the Masala to the Meat and Roast It Dry First

Add all the ground masala, the whole spices (cinnamon, cloves, black peppercorns, black cardamom, bay leaves), turmeric, and one teaspoon of salt to the raw meat. 

Mix everything together so every piece is coated, then put this on the stove over medium heat and roast it without any oil or water at this stage; both will be added later.

Roast the masala and meat together for eight to 10 minutes, stirring regularly; continue to do it until the masala becomes dark.

I keep the heat steady at medium and don’t rush this; if you want it quickly, go with high flame.

Just make sure the masala is properly cooked before you add oil, because adding oil to a half-roasted paste will give you a greasy result.

Once the masala has darkened and the raw smell is gone, add the 100g of mustard oil. 

Roast for another 4 to 5 minutes until the oil is absorbed and the masala on each piece looks glossy.

Why 100g of Mustard Oil Is Right for This Dish

Most home recipes use two to three tablespoons of oil, but I used 100g, which is roughly seven tablespoons.

So I use mustard oil because it has a sharpness that other cooking oils don’t have (a slight pungency and heat that stays in the background even after cooking at high temperatures), and at a small quantity you’d barely notice it. 

At 100g in half a kilo of meat, it becomes a distinct part of the flavor of the finished dish.

Besides this, oil also helps the masala hold together during pressure cooking. Because mustard oil has a denser character than neutral oils, it keeps the masala thick and coating around each piece of meat even after the water from the bottle gourd releases inside the pressure cooker. 

So instead of a watered-down gravy, you’ll get meat that’s still properly coated in masala.

But if you want to keep it lower in calories, you can reduce the oil to 60g to 70g, not less than that, and the masala will start to feel thin in the finished dish.

Add the Bottle Gourd and Pressure Cooking

Peel the bottle gourd and cut it into large pieces, roughly the same size as the meat pieces or slightly bigger. 

I had it bigger because bottle gourd shrinks during cooking, and smaller pieces could fall apart inside the pressure cooker, while larger pieces hold their shape.

Add the bottle gourd to the pot along with one glass of water and one tablespoon of salt. 

Stir once so the salt mixes into the water, and any masala left in the pot gets incorporated. Then close the pressure cooker and cook for two whistles.

Let the pressure drop on its own before you open the lid. Two whistles are enough because the meat has already been partly cooked through the roasting stage, and bottle gourd cooks faster than red meat. 

Tip: If you open the lid before the pressure is fully dropped, it will release steam unevenly and can leave the bottle gourd undercooked.

Why I use Bottle Gourd, not Other Vegetables

Bottle gourd has a high water content and very little flavor of its own; in most vegetable dishes, that reads as a limitation. I’ve made a Potato and meat recipe too that was a little similar to this one.

However, I felt like having meat with bottle gourd, and my father especially wanted it, so I agreed with him and made this. 

Yes, bottle gourd has a higher water content, but if we want to make something else, we can make that too.

Besides this, I’ve tried many other vegetables as well, but I still like bottle gourd. 

After that, I liked potatoes and meat more, but one difference that I was able to notice myself was that the bottle gourd meat recipe has fewer calories compared to the potato and meat recipes, because potatoes themselves are a very good source of carbohydrates.

Overall, I added this because of my taste; there wasn’t any major reason behind it.

What to Eat With This

It has enough gravy so you can pair it with rice or flatbread, or even make the yellow rice with potato alongside because its mild, lightly spiced flavor won’t compete with the masala from the meat at all. 

If you want a thinner option on the side to round out the meal, make a white lentil recipe because it’s clean and simple and adds a different texture without adding another heavily spiced dish to the table. 

For a fuller meal with more people, make this split pigeon pea and yellow mung lentils with rice; it’ll give you a warm, filling side.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use chicken instead of mutton or goat?

Do I need to heat the mustard oil separately before adding it to the meat?

Yes, you can use chicken instead of mutton, but keep in mind that chicken cooks quickly. So turn it off after just two whistles; otherwise, it will become too soft.

Although I’ve never tried chicken with bottle gourd, and I don’t really want to either because I just don’t feel like having this combination. If I ever feel like trying something different, I’ll try it.

What if I don’t have a pressure cooker?

If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can use a pot to cook the squash and meat. You’ll just need to use around half a liter of extra water, and cook it for a little longer. 

If you cook the same quantity on medium heat as I did, it will take around 25 to 30 extra minutes, and you’ll need to keep checking and stirring it from time to time.

How do I make the dish drier with less gravy?

You have to reduce the bottle gourd to 400g to 500g and cut the water down to half a glass. 

The bottle gourd releases some liquid of its own during pressure cooking, so even with less added water you’ll still get some gravy. 

Less bottle gourd and less water gives you a thicker masala coating on the meat without a pool of gravy in the pot.

Can I use ready-made masala powder instead of grinding fresh?

You can also use ready-made spices, like coriander powder, chili powder, garam masala, etc., but I’ve never used them myself, so it wouldn’t be right for me to tell you the quantities. 

You can add them according to your preference. I do know that your recipe will still turn out good, cause I’ve used them in different recipes.

However, my first choice is that you make the masala at home; this will give you better coating, and it will also be more natural and fresh.