When I first saw ridge gourd in the supermarkets near me, I decided to skip the vegetable. It is ridged and long and was a strange vegetable to me. And then I chanced upon this this recipe for ridge gourd chutney. I completely changed my mind and ridge gourd is one of my favorite vegetables now. Ridge gourd is called peechinga in Malayalam, turai in Hindi and beerakaya in Telugu.
I have been making this recipe for many years now and it always comes out good. If you have never tried it, do try the quick and easy ridge gourd chutney/beerakaya pachadi.
In Kerala, we do make amazing chutneys/ chammanthi but the star is usually coconut and the flavoring agents would change from ginger to raw mangoes to gooseberry and so on.
My mom also loves making this chutney in Kerala. She is happy to note that though it grows well in the soil there, this vegetable is not very popular there and so she always gets an abundant supply from neighbors and friends who are happy to give away the vegetable. I am sure that if they ever made this recipe, they won’t be giving it away any more.
As for prepping the ridge gourd, just peel off the spiny ridges and cut off the ends. You can leave the rest of the green skin on.
Ridge gourd chutney
Ingredients
- 1 Ridge gourd, cut into large pieces
- Tamarind, fresh or paste, a small gooseberry sized
- 5-6 Green chillies, cut into large pieces (See Notes)
- 3-4 Garlic pods use chana dal instead or use half of both
- a small handful of cashew pieces,
- ½ tsp Mustard seeds
- ½ tsp Cumin seeds
- ½ large Onion, cut into chunks
- Oil
- Cilantro a handful, chopped
Tempering
- ¼ tsp Mustard seeds
- ¼ tsp Cumin seeds
- ¼ tsp Urad dal
- 2 Dry red chillies
- 1 pinch Asafoetida (hing)
Instructions
- Start heating oil in a large skillet/wok.
- When it is not very hot, add the tamarind pieces.
- Keep the flames low and roast it for a few minutes. Do not let the color change. Remove to a plate.
- Increase the flame to medium and add the green chili slices. Let it roast for a couple of minutes and remove to the plate.
- Next roast the garlic, remove.
- Roast the cashew/chana dal till it starts changing color and remove to the plate.
- Add 1-2 teaspoons of oil, if needed.
- Put the mustard seeds (1/2 tsp) , let it splutter.
- Add cumin seeds and then the onion and after that the gourd.
- Mix well, sprinkle some water on them and cover and cook till the ridge gourd has become soft to touch and is cooked.
- Remove to the plate and once all the ingredients have cooked down, grind to.a paste along with the required salt.
- To temper the chutney, heat 1-2 tsp of oil in a small pan.
- Add mustard seeds and once it crackle, add cumin seeds, urad dal and when the dal has turned slight brown, add dry red chilies and asafoetida.
- Take the chutney into a serving bowl, put the cilantro over it and pour the tempering over the cilantro.
- Enjoy with rice or dosa.
Notes
- The ridge gourd is slightly sweet and we are also adding onion. So make sure you take a little more green chillies than normal to make sure the chutney is spicy enough.