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
Ithuvare ithukondu chutney undakkiyittilla ketto..Looks very attractive Nags! 🙂
nice picture…:-) glad you bought the vegetable. I make a thuvayal out of this: http://chefatwork.blogspot.com/2008/05/peerkangai-thuvayal.html
I also substitute bottle gourd for ridge gourd in this one:
http://chefatwork.blogspot.com/2007/07/bottle-gourd-and-moong-dal.html
And yeah, this is not turai. Turai or Tori is the smooth version of this vegetable. Jhinga Tori or Kaanta Tori is what it is called in Hindi (or so it seems)
Very nice recipe! Would love to try this.. Love your picture.. perfectly taken..:)
hi,
I do make this chutney minus sesame seeds, i must tell my hubby as he loves adding sesame seeds in all the dishes he likes to cook, I make kootu, pachadi, Tovve,& chutney with the peel, I just recently posted it in my blog, next time i will this way. as usual great pictures…….
Let me know if you need help with a header Aparna 🙂
This is my hubby fav chutney. I wont add sesame seed.will try adding that next time. good picture.
i never liked this veggie till the day when my mom made dal using it. and later i fell in love with the chutney made using it’s peel. now i keep a bagful of its pulp and peel in freezer to use it when i crave for some comfort food.
and i LOVE the new header 🙂 very nice nags 🙂 i think it’s time i started looking at making new one for myself
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).
I’ve never tried cooking with this veggie either. Oh….and I too am lazy to temper most of my dishes.
Lovely chutney, love the addition of coriander…
Nice chutney Nags….you can also make our thoran with peechinga….and beautiful headder!!!
once i made thogayal out of this veggie and it was bitter.. from then, i don’t experiment with this veggie 🙂 but your recipe sounds good and pairing with coriander sounds yummy..
Oh wow something new to me. Looks yummy….
What a gorgeous color, so vibrant and pretty! I wonder if you could make a raita with this veggie too?
Thats one lovely looking chutney Nags. Its a very common chutney in Andhra households and I used to cringe whenever my mom made it. and now, I crave for it every single day.
Siri
Mahimaa – maybe that particular veg was acting up on you. Either ways, i am glad this didn’t go bitter on me, otherwise it would have stayed off it forever 🙂
Shreya – no problem at all 🙂
Ranjani – I am not sure how this will taste raw if that’s how you want to use it in the raita.. worth a try though
hi, just read again, and noticed you have mentioned the names in all langauges..sorry abt that..
Hi Nags, wonderful colour of the chutney:-)Love the recipe. Great use of sesame seeds, and the addition of coriander leaves is nice. I will try this for sure but with lemon juice instead of tamarind. I cook a lot with ridged gourds-add it to dal, subji etc. We call it thalorikka at home, and in telugu it is beerakai. After moving to Hyd, i learnt to make beerakai thokku chutney, which is made with the peeled skin of this vegetable and the rest of it used for subji.
I’ve tried this with red chillies, curry leaves and onions instead of the green chillies and coriander. Tastes really nice and spicy and is great with idlis or dosas.
Great pics Nags – I cant stop raving about the pics you take 🙂
nice chutney… I guess I should go beyond onion, tomato, potato, beans and try something new 🙂
I love ridge gourd chutney … we make it sans sesame seeds .. shall try that next time
same here, i never pick up the ridgegourds. But after seeing Priya’s and this recipe, I think I just might make it soon. BTW, your post on food photography was very eye opening!
Nags, just read your comments at Aroma. Since I don’t like sweet things much, I didn’t buy the Pudding book. Everything else I have from her except new Ganesh Chaturthi book!
Ridge gourd chutney is my favorite, looks delicious! 🙂
I’ve never had this gourd before. Wonder how it tastes like.
I never have had chammanthi with peechanga, looks yumm. In Ernakulum we had always peechanga, i alway loved the paripucurry mom made with peechanga.
Nags, the same story happens at my home also, i can see a wierd look at hubby’s face if i pick something new..
By the bye, this chutney looks yummy..I never added coriander leaves with ridgeguard..Hmm..Have to give a try…
hi nags,
nice chutney.we used to make this in a slightly different way without coriander leaves and sesame seeds.will try this and c:)
This is a very nice recipe. Chutney looks so divine. Lovely color. Have bookmarked ur recipe, will try it soon. YUM!
I make ridge gourd(we call peerkangai in tamil) thovayal kind something similar to this(wont temper either),and we make us of the peels too, Except the too sharp,hard ridges…! Glad that the first try of this veggie is a hit! And the second pisture doesnt shows its night time,too good!