Sorakkai Verkadalai Masala | South Indian Bottle Gourd Recipe

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Sorakkai verkadalai masala, a nutty South Indian bottle gourd recipe with roasted peanuts. Easy Tamil Nadu-style sorakkai poriyal for rice and roti.

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Entree

Cuisine: Tamil Nadu

Keyword: bottle gourd peanut curry, sorakkai verkadalai masala

Servings:

Calories: 155kcal

Dry roast ½ cup peanuts with 2 dried red chilies. Grind into a coarse powder.
Heat 2 teaspoons of oil. Temper mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, and a pinch of asafoetida.
Add the onions and curry leaves. Sauté until soft.
Add 2 small tomatoes and salt. Cook until the tomatoes turn completely mushy. That’s where the flavor builds.
Add turmeric and red chili powder. Mix, cover, and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the chopped bottle gourd with ¼ cup water. Cover and cook until soft.
Now for the best part. Add the roasted peanut powder and mix well. Add ¼ cup more water to bring it together.
Finish with fresh cilantro. That’s it, your masala is ready. Enjoy.

Adjust salt and spices to taste.
You don’t need both dried red chilies and red chili powder. I use 2 regular dried chilies for heat and Kashmiri chili powder for color. You can skip the dried chilies and use 1 tsp regular red chili powder plus ½ tsp Kashmiri chili powder. Or use 2 dried red chilies plus 1 Kashmiri or byadgi chili for color.
I did add garam masala when testing. But I wanted the bottle gourd flavor to come through, so I skipped it here and kept the spices light. You can still add ½ tsp if you like.
I didn’t use garlic. You can add 2 small crushed garlic cloves or 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste.
To make it a gravy:
- Set aside a few whole roasted peanuts before grinding.
- Once the bottle gourd softens, add ½ cup coconut milk and ½ cup water toward the end, instead of ¼ cup water.
- You can also add ½ tsp garam masala for the gravy version.