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Kukura aru Komora

Chicken slow-cooked with ash gourd until the gourd melts into a light, sweetish gravy — the everyday cousin of Bihu's famous duck and kumura.

Ingredients

• 750 g chicken, curry cut
• 400 g ash gourd (komora), peeled and cubed
• 2 onions, sliced
• 1½ tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 3 green chillies, slit
• ½ tsp garam masala
• 3 tbsp mustard oil
• salt to taste

Method

1. Heat mustard oil to smoking, lower the flame. Add bay leaves and onions, fry till golden.
2. Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté 2 minutes.
3. Add the chicken with turmeric, cumin, coriander, chilli powder and salt. Cook on high 8 minutes, stirring, till the chicken is browned.
4. Add the ash gourd and green chillies. Mix, cover and cook on low 10 minutes — the gourd will release its own water.
5. Add ½ cup hot water only if the pan looks dry. Cover and cook 15 minutes till the chicken is tender and the gourd is translucent.
6. Sprinkle garam masala and serve with rice.

Tip: Ash gourd is mostly water — add very little extra liquid or the gravy will be thin. For Bihu, try the same recipe with duck (hah) and cook 30 minutes longer.