Anyway, ridge gourd is very commonly seen in all supermarkets and wet markets in Singapore. I used to pass by without a second glance because I had never cooked with it before and had no clue where I can fit it in. I vaguely remember amma making a bajji (not the deep fried kind, we also refer to pachadi-like curries as bajji at home) with the vegetable but I wasn’t even sure if this was the same vegetable.
I would always resolve to go home and search for ridge gourd recipes online so that next time I can buy it. Of course the search never happened and I invariably forgot about it until I came to the supermarket next.
One day, I have no idea what came over me but I walked straight to the ridge gourd tray and picked up one. TH panicked. I could read his thoughts which went ‘now what experimental dish is she going to cook up with this weird looking thing?’ He asked me a few times if I knew how to cook it and I very confidently said ‘I will figure something out’. The challenge was not to cook something with it but to cook something that he would like.
I finally ended up trying this Ridge Gourd chutney with lots of coriander leaves and it came together really quickly and easily.
And yes, TH liked it too 🙂
Ridge gourd is known as beerakai in Telugu, peerkangai in Tamil, peechanga in Malayalam and torai/dodka in Hindi/Marathi.
Other chutney recipes you may like:
Peanut mint chutney
Coconut garlic chutney
Red capsicum chutney
Tomato mint chutney
Chow chow chutney
Ridge Gourd Chutney
Ingredients:
Ridge gourd, peeled and chopped – 2 cups
Fresh coriander leaves – 1/2 cup, chopped
Green chillies – 2, or to taste
Chana dal / bengal gram / kadala paruppu – 2 tsp
Urad dal / uzhunnu parippu / ulatham paruppu – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds / jeera / jeerakam – 1/4 tsp
Hing / asafoetida / kaayam / perungayam – a generous pinch (optional)
Sesame seeds / til – 1 tbsp (I used white sesame seeds, do not avoid this ingredients as its vital for the flavour)
Tamarind paste – 1 tsp (or use 1 tbsp lemon juice)
Salt – to taste
How to Make Beerakaya Pachadi:
1. Peel and chop the ridge gourd into chunks. Cook this with 1/2 cup water until soft and mushy. Set aside to cool.
2. Dry roast the chana and urad dal in a pan. When they are about to turn golden brown, add the sesame seeds and keep roasting until all are nicely browned and smell good. Throw in the jeera and the hing when the pan is still hot and set aside to cool.
3. Once the ridge gourd and the roast
Tastes good with dosa and steamed rice. Actually not just good, but really really good! The sesame seeds are the winners in this recipe so do not avoid those. Oh I said that already? Ok then!
1. After I peel the skin, do I use the entire rest of the vegetable or do I scoop out the more cottony middle part? I am guessing that I use the entire rest of the vegetable.
2. I notice that Sailu does not even peel the skin in her recipe. (Obviously this makes the recipe easier.) Do you recommend this?
3. I see that some people make thogayal using only the skin.
Some general comments:
In my home, we just ate to live. As I grew older, I started admiring foodies/epicureans, i.e, people with a genuine fondness/passion for food/cooking/sharing it with others. I am not religious at all. However, I do go to the Hindu temple (in our US mid west town) from time to time. my fantasy is that some older woman would decide that I am the chosen one and pass along all her cooking secrets to me. This has not happened yet 🙂
Yes, entire rest of the vegetable. I haven't tried this with the skin on but maybe you can do that too since many people do make chutney with just ridge gourd peels or skins. Experiment away!
This is a coastal andhra staple. I always love this. And coming to the bitterness, some of them are bitter especially when they are grown in summer. always pick the fresh heavy ones which are watery. Dry ones tend to be bitter. before cooking taste the corners of the gourd to check for bitterness (the way we do for cucumber).
We make this all the time 🙂 A family fave !
We make this all the time 🙂 A family fave !
This is one vegetable that gets my husband worried too, if he sees at home. He cannot stand it! 🙂
But make chutney this way (with some coconut) and no problems. Coconut can solve a lot of my chutney problems!!:)
Btw, really liked this new header. My blog still doesn’t have one because I haven’t figured out one.:D