Sorakaya curry | Anapakaya kura
Updated: August 29, 2022, By Swasthi
Sorakaya curry or anapakaya curry recipe. Simple, easy, comforting & healthy bottle gourd chana dal curry made in andhra style. Sorakaya is the telugu name for bottle gourd. It is one of the most common veggie used in Andhra cuisine. Sorakaya curry is eaten with plain rice & ghee or chapati.
Bottle Gourd is called as ghiya or lauki in Hindi, doodhi in Marathi, anapakaya or sorakaya in telugu and sourekai in kannada . Most Indian households use this veggie to prepare their everyday foods. It is widely used to make curry, chutney or even cooked with dal.
This healthy veggie is cooling to the body, light on the tummy and is easier for digestion. So it is also given to babies after 10 months.
Bottle gourd is high in certain vitamins and minerals. It enhances the liver function, relieves constipation, good for heart health, diabetes and blood pressure too. To make it more nutritious and balanced, it is often cooked with lentils.
Sorakaya curry recipe shared here is a simple one made with basic ingredients without using any garam masala. Most veggies in andhra cuisine are prepared without the use of garam masala.
Tips to make sorakaya curry
- Do not use bitter tasting sorakaya to make the curry. We usually taste a bit of the raw veggie to ensure it is not bitter before cooking. Bitter bottle gourd is toxic and must be avoided.
- This recipe does not use any garlic or ginger. The use of onion is optional and can be skipped.
- We make this curry with chana dal and this is a popular version made in some regions of andhra pradesh. However you can completely skip the dal and just make the basic curry.
- I have used coconut milk to make the curry. You can however skip it completely.
More bottle gourd recipes
Sorakaya pulusu
Bottle gourd stir fry
Sorakaya pappu
Sorakaya pachadi
Easy sorakaya perugu pachadi
Sorakaya curry
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- 2 cups bottle gourd or sorakaya (peeled and chopped)
- ¼ cup channa dal or senaga pappu (optional)
- 1 green chili slit or chopped
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 pinch hing or asafoetida (optional)
- 1/8 teaspoon turmeric or haldi
- 1 large onion chopped finely
- 1 large tomatoes chopped finely
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
- 2 to 4 tablespoon Coconut milk or coconut (optional)
- 2 tablespoon Oil as needed
Instructions
- Optional: If using chana dal soak it for at least 30 minutes in warm water. Drain and set aside.
- Pour oil to a hot pan. When the oil turns hot add mustard, cumin and curry leaves. Allow them to splutter. Then add hing.
- Add onions and green chilli. Fry until the onions turn golden. Then add tomatoes, salt and turmeric. Fry till the tomatoes break down and turn mushy. Then add the bottle gourd and fry for about 3 mins.
- Add chana dal (optional) & red chili powder. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour about ¼ to ½ half cup water. Cover and simmer till the chana dal is just cooked thoroughly. Do not over cook the dal. Or alternately you can pressure cook for 1 whistle.
- Taste the curry and add more salt if needed. Pour coconut milk or coconut if using. Mix well. If the curry is runny just evaporate the excess moisture by cooking on a slightly higher flame. Serve sorakaya curry with rice or chapati.
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
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About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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Comments
When you say mustard, do you mean mustard seeds?
yes mustard seeds
Hi, Swasthi, tried anapakayi, senaga pappu kura recipe and it’s really good. I added two cloves of crushed garlic. Infact, I tried a lot of your recipes and they are not just good, but excellent. God bless you! .
Hi Radha,
Thank you so much for letting me know! That’s really nice.
Hi,
I didn’t pressure cook the Chana and directly put it in the curry after soaking it for an hour. But the Chana isn’t getting soft, it’s like 80% cooked. Does it need to be completely soft or is this fine?
Hi Shruti,
It should be fully cooked or slightly al dente is also okay but not hard. I too don’t pressure cook this dish. Cook for a little longer.
I also tried very nice
Glad to know Gayathri
🙂
Can I use dried coconut or only fresh ones?
Hi Tanu
I haven’t tried this with dried coconut. I don’t think it goes well.
Can we add little amchur
Yes we can use amchur
Receipes are very nice
Thank you
Fabulous curry,with a bowl of rice i'll happily have this curry rite now for my lunch.
Healthy and delicious curry.
Wow the curry looks yummy.The curry without onion is good on Pooja days.Will try.
Tempting n inviting…
tempting colour of the curry..<br /><br />Dear,need your contact mail id..can you please get in touch with me
Delicious…