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Here is my another favorite recipe for Ridgegourd aka Beerakai. When i was a kid, i wasn't a big fan of this vegetable but after coming here i started craving for this veggie a lot. This recipe calls for tender ridge gourd and tamarind. Ridge gourd is extremely versatile like Tofu since it can absorb the flavors of other ingredients that it comes in contact. Make sure you look for tender ones when buying!
- Look for sharp ridges and when pressed your nail should be able to easily slip into the gourd which says they are tender and ready to be cooked, unlike the mature ones which are used to make Loofahs.
Normally they use milk ( palu posina beerakai kura ) when they cook with ridge gourd, but in this recipe i am using tamarind. This Beerakaya pulusu curry is a one pot dish which is so simple yet quickly adds up to good health and great taste. The unique texture of ridge gourd when cooked and the zing from the tamarind makes this curry a hit. Another important addition to this curry is Fenugreek Seeds aka Methi Seeds which adds so much flavor to the curry( Dont cook this curry if you dont have fenugreek seeds on hand!! )
Ingredients:
- 1 arm sized ridge gourd( beerakai )
- 1/2 small lime sized tamarind
- 1 big onion
- 5 green chillies
- cilantro / coriander
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp mustard seeds( aavaalu )
- 1 tsp cumin seeds( jeela karra/ jeera )
- 1 tsp Methi seeds( menthulu )--- Required!
- 10 curry leaves
- a dash of hing
- 1 tbsp split chick peas / chana dal
- 2-3 tbsp oil
- a pinch of turmeric
Method of preparation:
- Peel the gourd ( save the peels for the chutney ) and chop into 1/2 inch pieces
- Slit green chillies length wise, and onions into 1 inch pieces
- Soak tamarind in warm water for 5 min, remove any seeds in tamarind and keep aside
- In a pressure pan, heat oil and add seasonings and when they start to pop, add curry leaves, onions and chillies
- Fry for 30 sec and add ridge gourd pieces( beerakai mukkalu) and tomatoes
- Saute for 2 more min and add tamarind pulp and water until the pieces just get immersed in water
- Pressure cook for 5-10 min or if u have Indian style pressure cooker with weight, switch off the heat just after one whistle
- Once the weight comes off easily, open and cook under flame until desired thickness.
- You can mash it a little(or more if you want a thick gravy ) with a round bottommed spoon or masher.
- Add sugar at this point( you can either avoid or get overboard with sugar )
- Adjust salt to taste and if you need more spice, you can add red chilli powder.
- Switch off the flame and add cilantro! Voila, the spicy ridge gourd curry is ready!
Ridge gourd curry in tamarind sauce tastes great with hot rice, roti, chapathi or bread. You can follow the step by step how to pictures for this curry! This will be my entry for Vegan Month hosted by Suganya . And this grindless gravy is on its way to Grindless Gravies event hosted by SRA
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24 COMMENTS:
Now that you have mentioned, ridge gourd is like tofu. It absorbs all flavours. Only better :). Thanks for your participation, Kalva.
Looks nice kalva and thanx for that step by step procedure!!
I love ridgegourd too..Curry looks delicious.
Nice gravy...
Thanks Suganya, yes ridge gourd absorbs the flavors, by itself its little sweet and plain.
I just made Ridge gourd dish too, I love them although I don't get them often here! Looks delicious, good looking gravy there!:))
I usually add this vegetable in sambar or kootu. Your recipe is new to me. Looks ver delicious too.
Thanks Raks, Lakshmi and Easy Crafts for stopping by and leaving your comments!
looks gr8, nvr heard u can use tamrind in ridge gourd..will try it..
Nice dish & nice step by step photos.. I make curry too, but not like your, will try this out.
Yes Asha, im in the same league, i hardly find this veggie in the desi store..
Hi Kribha i do kootu ( ridge gourd in moong dal ) but never added this in sambar. Next time i should give it a try!
Swaroopa, yes this is my moms recipe, and you know what i used to have doubts as in which curries should we add hing, and my sister said that " you should add hing in every curry that calls for tamarind". That made my life easier !!
Like you, i didn't like this growing up but I've been wanting to try this lately. How do I know if it's tender? Any tips...
Curry looks very good and i like the idea of adding tamarind to it.
I cook ridge gourd but nver added tamarind to it. May be I can try. Looks gr8
Thanks Seems, it was little challenging to take pics when cooking under flame.., i had to clean the lens before taking each picture
curry looks amazing....i have seen this ridgegourd at grocery shopes...havent tried anythg wid it yet...actually i didt knw that we can make this delicious dishes wid these....thanku for ur step by step pics...really helpful for persons like me to experiment wid a new veg...thanku
Laavanya, as per your suggestions, i added the tip on how to select tender ones. check it out!
Yes Rins yes adding tamrind gives so much falvor to this curry, as ridgegourd by itself is bland!
Hi Remya,
Buy some next time, you must lucky to find thsi veggies at Indian grocery. I hardly find this one. Gald you liekd the pictures. Hope you would try thi Beerakaya( Beerakangai ) pulusu soon!
Hey make it similar way with Anapakaya ,never tried with beerakaya. should give it a try.
Yes Sreelu yor are right, we do it with anapakaya too but minus tomato. We call it Sorakaya Pulusu Kura
Hi Kalva, thanks for your entry. Even I didn't like beerakai as a child, but all that changed after I went to hostel (and returned home.) And I don't think I've ever tasted it with chintapandu pulusu. Nice post.
Tomato is not mentioned in ingredients list?!
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