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Indian · Punjabi

Lauki raita (bottle gourd raita)

Vegetarian

लौकी का रायता · laukī kā rāytā

Grated bottle gourd, briefly cooked and cooled, folded into whisked yoghurt with roasted cumin, black salt and green chilli, and finished with a cumin tadka. Cooling, light and very soothing in summer.

Lauki raita (bottle gourd raita) is an Indian side dish, ready in about 37 minutes and made with bottle gourd (lauki) and yogurt. It serves 6 and is rated beginner to cook.

Start cooking
Lauki raita: yogurt with grated bottle gourd and cumin in a glass dish, beside a lauki
Photo: Miansari66 / Wikimedia Commons · CC0-1.0
Prep
10 min
Cook
7 min
Rest
20 min
Total
37 min
Serves
6
Level
Beginner
Calories
43

Ingredients

6 servings (about 90 g)

Tadka

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Cut a thin slice from the gourd and taste it raw. If it is at all bitter, throw the whole gourd away. Peel it, halve it, scoop out any hard seeds, and grate the flesh coarsely.

    Food safety: Bitter bottle gourd contains toxic cucurbitacins; never use a gourd that tastes bitter.

    Grating on a box grater
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan (opens in a new tab), add the grated gourd, cover and simmer over medium heat until soft and translucent, 4–5 minutes.

    A curry simmering in a pot
    How it looks · Photo: Bachir Mamud on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Drain in a sieve and let it cool completely, about 20 minutes, then press lightly to remove excess water.

    Liquid being strained through a sieve
    How it looks · Photo: Katerina Holmes on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Whisk (opens in a new tab) the yoghurt (opens in a new tab) smooth. Stir in the cooled gourd, roasted cumin, black salt (opens in a new tab), salt, green chilli (opens in a new tab) and coriander.

    Eggs being whisked in a bowl
    How it looks · Photo: Kampus Production on Pexels

  5. Step 5

    For the optional tadka, heat the ghee (opens in a new tab) in a small pan over medium heat, add the cumin seeds (opens in a new tab) and, when they sizzle and darken a shade (about 20 seconds), pour over the raita.

    Food safety: Hot oil spits when seeds and leaves go in; keep your face back and have the lid nearby.

About this dish

Origin
North India, India · Commonly attributedA widely made summer raita in Punjabi and Uttar Pradesh homes. The gourd is always cooked first (raw lauki is unpleasant and must be tasted for bitterness).Also popular in PakistanMore food from India
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Side dishes · Condiments, chutneys & relishes
Cooking method
Simmered, No-cook
Taste
refreshing, mild, creamy, tangy
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No gluten ingredients · No nut ingredients · Low-carb
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Whole-food focused · No gluten ingredients · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · Low-fat
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Everyday · Budget-friendly · Child-friendly
Cook more with
Yogurt · Ground cumin · Black salt (kala namak) · Green chilli · Coriander leaves
Techniques
Boiling · Simmering · Tadka (tempering)

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom yogurt, ghee

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

43 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 90 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 21%
  • Carbohydrate 39%
  • Fat 40%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
Energy43 kcal48 kcal
Protein2.4 g2.6 g
Carbohydrate4.4 g4.9 g
Net carbohydrate4.1 g4.6 g
Sugars——
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre0.3 g0.3 g
Fat2 g2.2 g
Saturated fat1.2 g1.4 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol8 mg8 mg
Sodium223 mg248 mg
Salt equivalent0.6 g0.6 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
166 mg
Calcium
87 mg
Iron
0.4 mg
Magnesium
14 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
—
Vitamin C
6 mg
Vitamin D
0.1 µg
Vitamin B12
0.2 µg
Folate (DFE)
7 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: ghee, cumin seeds.
  • Black salt (kala namak): Table salt (FDC 173468) used as a stand-in; kala namak is mostly sodium chloride with sulphur compounds that give its eggy aroma.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Mixing warm gourd into yoghurt makes it split and sour; cool it fully first.
  • Choose a gourd with glossy, pale skin that your nail can dent; old gourds are fibrous.

Common mistakes

  • Skipping the bitterness test.
  • Not draining the cooked gourd, which makes a watery raita.

Serve with

  • Serve with moong dal khichdi, jeera rice, vegetable pulao, aloo paratha or a light summer thali.

Food safety

  • Taste raw bottle gourd before cooking and discard any that is bitter; cucurbitacin poisoning can be serious.
  • Keep yoghurt dishes chilled and do not leave them at room temperature for more than 2 hours (1 hour in hot weather).

Storage

  • Refrigerate covered for up to 1 day.

Variations

  • Mint lauki raita: Add a tablespoon of chopped mint and a pinch of chaat masala.
  • Gujarati dudhi raita: Season with a mustard-seed and curry-leaf tempering and a little sugar.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Goes with

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

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Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

  • Bottle gourd (lauki), young and tender, peeled, deseeded if the seeds are hard, and coarsely grated250 g
  • Yogurt, plain full-fat, chilled350 g
Used in steps 1, 2, 3, 4

Make it milder, swap ingredients for your diet, change the batch size or thickness — the original stays as it is.

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

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