Everything I’ve written about has included me praising it tirelessly. I think it makes it seem like I like all Bengali food and everything I have ever tried; that is not true. While there are not a lot, there are still foods I either simply do not like, or like less than others. Some so much so that I try to get out of eating it whenever my mom makes it! One of these dishes being Lau Ghonto, or as I like to call it, “the bane of my existence”. 

Lau is bottle gourd, which is cooked with Urad Daal and some light spices. Although the dish is not so spicy, it is good for the stomach and delicious too, so that is a bonus!

My sister loves Lau Ghonto – I swear she can inhale heaps of it and it still wouldn’t be enough for her. But me, the bare minimum on my plate is too much. I find myself secretly asking her if she can eat my portion when my mom is not looking sometimes. My mom makes it in the pressure cooker she makes daal, and she makes a lot of it too – it’s almost like it never ends sometimes. 

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike the taste, my mom makes it well, it’s the texture that bothers me. I think if you’re into the texture of slightly rough Jell-o or gelatin, then I think you’d really like Lau Ghonto!