Ridge Gourd/Turai Chutney/Peerkangai Thogayal

Presenting a delicious chutney as an accompaniment for almost any cuisine – from Idli,Dosa,Vada to Pakodas and Rotis,this chutney is awesome with anything including Nachos.This was made by my great grand mother and continued in the family since then.In the family we enjoy it with plain,hot boiled rice.Great on fingers too!

“Chutneys” was the monthly theme of the group Shhhhh Secretly Cooking Challenge.

I was paired with Sujitha Ruban who blogs at :

http://sujithaeasycooking.com

Sujitha gave me Urad Dal and a vegetable while I gave her Fruits and Cinnamon.I chose Ridge Gourd and proceeded to make this Chutney as this was the first thing which came to my mind.It reminded me of my grandmother’s outstanding cooking (inherited from her mother) and I wanted to share this recipe with everyone.

Ridge Gourds are called Turai/Turiya/Tori/Peerkangai in various languages.

Here is how they look :

Check out the recipe below!

The delicious Chutney…

Preparation Time : 1 hour

Makes : 1 small jar

INGREDIENTS

1 medium sized Ridge Gourd

1/4 cup freshly grated Coconut (optional)

2 tsp salt

3 tbsp Urad Dal

2 tbsp Chana Dal

2 tsp Asafoetida Powder (Heeng)

8 – 10 fresh Curry Leaves

2 tbsp powdered Jaggery

2 tbsp Oil

2 dried red Chillies (Kashmiri Chillies are the best bet)

A lemon sized quantity of tamarind soaked in warm water for 30 minutes (without any stone or grits)/2 tbsp Tamarind paste (Imli)

METHOD

Peel and chop the Ridge Gourd into dices.

Heat Oil in a pan on low heat and add asafoetida and both the dals.Add the curry leaves and dried red chillies and fry the lentils till they are a reddish pink.Add the chopped Gourd and salt and toss to amalgamate.Fry till the Gourd is golden brown.Keep aside to cool.

In a chutney grinder add the fried Gourd and Lentils.Add the grated Coconut,powdered Jaggery and soaked Tamarind/Tamarind Paste.Add 1/4 cup of water and blend to a fine paste.Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Store in a glass jar and keep refrigerated.Use as required.

Served with hot Onion Bhajiyas…