Dudhi (bottle gourd) and its family members have never been my favorite vegetables. Suddenly this month, I was reminded of a recipe that mom had made about 12 – 15 years back, which made me like that dudhi sabji for one brief day. 
The funny part was that when I tried to jog my mom’s memory for the recipe, she could not remember it. So the two of us came up with this one, based on my remembrance of the main ingredient (namely mint) and her vast cooking experience. The end result was fantastic!
Ingredients:
1. Bite sized cubes of medium sized bottle gourd (You can also use spaghetti squash, possibly the huge yellow squash)
2. Split chana daal – 1/3rd cup
3. Onion – 1 – finely chopped
4. Mint – handful, if fresh, 1 tablespoon, if dried
5. Coconut – 1 tablespoon (dried or wet)
6. Garlic – 2 medium sized cloves
7. Ginger – 1/2 inch piece
8. Cilantro – 1/3 cup
9. Asefotida (pinch), Mustard seeds (1/2 tsp), Jeera (1 tsp) – for tempering
10. Oil – 2 tsps
11. Green chillies – 3
Method:
1. Soak split chana daal for an hour
2. Grind the ginger, garlic, green chillies, mint, cilantro and coconut with half a cup of water, into a fine paste
3. I cooked this in a pressure pan, but any regular vessel should do good too. Heat the pressure pan, add oil. When the oil is hot, add the asefotida, mustard seeds and jeera seeds. When they splutter, add finely chopped onion.
4. Cover with a regular lid and cook till the onions become soft. Add the soaked chana daal and cook till soft.
5. Now add the ground paste and the pieces of gourd/squash. Cover and cook till the color of the vegetable changes a little bit.
6. Add salt to taste
7. If you have a pressure pan, add half a cup of water, cover with pressure pan lid and cook for a single whistle. If you are cooking in a regular vessel, add the water and continue cooking with closed lid till the vegetable cooks.
Lo and behold, you have converted a tasteless gourd/squash into a very palatable dish, which your entire family will enjoy.
