Ridge Gourd Chutney/Peerkangai Thuvayal

Ridge gourd poriyal is one of my favorites that my mom used to cook. But VJ was not very much interested in that. And so it has become a rarest make in my kitchen. When I came to know that we can make chutney with this nutritious vegetable, I wanted to give it a shot. Luckily this suited the taste buds of all the members in my family and now it has become a frequent visitor :) Prajju loves this a lot!! Check the "Nutritional Information" section for more info and now to the recipe.

Ingredients

Ridge gourd - 2
Onion - 1, chopped finely
Tomato - 1, chopped
Garlic - 2, chopped
Salt, hing and turmeric powder as per taste

Ingredients

Oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves

Method

1. Wash and scrap the skin of the ridge gourd (you do not have to peel off the skin completely). Chop it into medium sized pieces
2. Heat a tsp of oil in a pan. Add the chopped garlic and onions and saute until the onion turns translucent. Then add the chopped tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes turn mushy.
3. Then add the chopped ridge gourd, salt, hing and turmeric powder. Keep covered and cook until the ridge gourd is fully cooked. This will not take much time as the vegetable gets cooked quickly. Also you may not have to add water as the vegetable itself will ooze out some water. Switch off the flame and set aside to cool down.
4. Grind in a mixer to a smooth paste. Do the tempering and pour it in the ridge gourd chutney. Enjoy with Idly/dosa.

** You can also make it as a thuvayal, by altering the ingredients. Skip onion, tomatoes and garlic. Just cook the vegetable and grind it along with a small piece of tamarind and 2 tbsp of coconut. Then do the tempering. Ridge gourd thuvayal is ready to be enjoyed with hot rice!!

Nutritional Information

Vegetables of the "gourd" family are extremely advantageous through the health perspective. Of these the Ridge gourd is said to be extremely rich in fibre, quite lower in saturated fats and calories. It is abundant in Vitamin C, zinc, thiamin, iron, magnesium etc and boosts up your immune system. When included in your regular diet this vegetable acts as an excellent blood purifier. Also as this is a watery vegetable this helps in reducing your body weight. The best part is this veggie has a nice sweet taste that everyone will like. So include this in your regular diet as a stir fry or poriyal or chutney and enjoy its benefits.