Ridge gourd pachadi or beerakaya pachadi recipe: this particular ridge gourd pachadi recipe, I believe, is unique to the Reddiar community in Kerala. In fact, we call it not pachadi, but bajji (yes, like the besan coated deep fried snacks by the same name from Tamil Nadu). This pachadi or bajji can be made with ridge gourd (beerakaya in Telugu, torai in Hindi, peerkangai in Tamil, and peechinga in Malayalam). It is super flavourful and is usually mixed with rice instead of kuzhambu but also goes really well with dosa and idli.
Ridge gourd is not a vegetable I buy very often, mainly because I know very few things to do with a large ridge gourd that would work when cooking for two. However, it cooks down to a much smaller quantity when making this pachadi, resulting in a great tasting pachadi perfect for two, or more. If you want a chutney recipe, then this ridge gourd chutney with coriander would work really well with rice and breakfast dishes too.
For similar recipes, check out:
Gongura pachadi recipe
Vendakka pachadi
Ridge gourd chutney
Peanut mint chutney
Ridge Gourd Pachadi Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 cups of ridge gourd peeled and cubed
- ¼ cup of shallots or red onions chopped
- 2-3 flakes of garlic
- 4-5 green chillies adjust to heat preference
- 1 teaspoon of tamarind paste or a small piece of tamarind
- For tempering:
- 3 tablespoon of oil
- ½ teaspoon of black mustard seeds
- ¼ cup of sliced onions or shallots
- A few curry leaves
Instructions
- Peel the ridge gourd, wash well, and cut into small cubes
- Place in a cooking pan along with the rest of the ingredients and salt
- Keeping heat low, cook in a closed pan for about 10-12 minutes or until the ridge gourd has cooked to a soft consistency. The vegetable will let out a lot of water so no need to add water while cooking
- Cool and grind to a smooth paste
- Heat oil for tempering and add the black mustard seeds
- When the seeds pop, add the sliced onions or shallots and curry leaves
- Fry until the onions turn golden and add the pureed mixture to this
- Heat through and add more salt if needed
- Serve warm with rice and any curry
Peel and wash the ridge gourd (beerakaya, peerkanga).
Place in a cooking pan along with shallots or onion, garlic, green chillies, tamarind, and salt
Cover and cook for 10-12 mins on low flame until the mixture is cooked and soft
Cool until ready to grind (slightly warm should be okay but do not grind very hot ingredients, it's unsafe). Transfer to a mixer or blender.
And make a smooth puree
In a kadai or small pan, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds. Once they pop, add the onions or shallots and curry leaves.
Fry until golden brown
Add the pureed mixture to this and mix well. Adjust salt if needed. There's no need to boil, just heat through and remove from heat.
This ridge gourd pachadi goes well with rice and curry or even dosa, idli, etc. The tamarind adds the necessary tang so don't skip that. You can also add a pinch of sugar to adjust the flavours.
For beerakaya pachadi recipe in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Marathi, Urdu, etc, please use the Google translate button in the sidebar
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