Ridge Gourd Coriander Chutney

Ridge Gourd is a vegetable I haven't seen much in Kottayam. Or maybe it was available but I never noticed it. I do remember the dried ridge gourd (peechanga in malayalam) that we used to scrub ourselves in the shower. This was before the entry of a free loofah with every bottle of body wash (God! I feel old now!).



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.



Long story short, I came home and searched online for ridge gourd recipes and, of course, Sailu's blog was among the top ten. I saw the recipe, realized it was quite easy and made it over a weeknight. It tasted so good that I had to take a picture even in sucky light just so that I can share it.



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.

Sailu's recipe involves tempering the chutney but I avoided that because I was lazy it’s healthier that way and still tastes great! I also avoided roasting the coriander leaves since I prefer the fresh flavour. So basically mine is a much lazier.. err.. simpler version :D

Recipe for Peechanga Chammanthi

What I Used:



Ridge gourd - 2 cups (1 medium sized vegetable), peeled and chopped

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 I Made It:



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 roasted ingredients have cooled completely, grind to a smooth paste with the coriander leaves, tamarind, green chillies and salt.

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!



This is my entry to this week's Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Cheryl of Gluten Free Goodness