Monday, September 17, 2007

Ridge Gourd mojo!

I finally figured out the english name for one of my fave indian vegetables - peerkangai (tamil), turia (hindi) is ridge gourd in english - which makes perfect sense: it does have ridges, and it is a gourd :)

Whoa! Wikipedia says that this ridge gourd is of the same species as a loofah. Crazy!


I snapped up some really fresh looking ridge gourd from Apna Bazar in Bellevue (they've opened in the old home of the much hated Regal Foods). I often think of trying something different with it, but I always end up making the masiyal that we ate so often growing up - *so* good!



Peerkangai Masiyal

Couple of ridge gourds - peeled, cored and diced

1 cup of tuar dal

a pinch of turmeric
salt
2 T lemon juice


Seasoning:

1 t sesame oil

1 t mustard

1 t urad dal

3 green chillies - chopped

1" ginger - minced
8-10 curry leaves
a pinch of asafoetida


While the tuar dal is cooking, roast these spices in the oil and then toss in the gourd pieces.
Add the turmeric and about 1/2 cup of water and cook on medium till the veggies are done. Throw in the cooked tuar dal, salt and stir for about a minute before taking it off the stove. Add the lemon juice and garnish with cilantro.

Happy!


Random pic: First tomato I plucked from my veggie patch :)

2 comments:

TBC said...

Ridge gourd curry looks great & the recipe is so simple!

sumasim said...

Hi, i just tried your ridge gourd dish it came out very tasty thank u so much