Easy Tomato Beerakaya Pachadi | Ridge Gourd Chutney

Beerakaya Pachadi or ridge gourd chutney is an easy, authentic, and delicious Andhra homestyle chutney. Beerakaya in English is called Ridge gourd. This is one of those comforting spicy dishes that is often made in many South Indian homes and it goes excellent with hot white rice with ghee, Dosa, Idli, Pesarattu, Punugulu, etc...

Also, check out our Dondakaya Pachadi and Tomato Pachadi to add to your collection of easy South Indian home-style chutneys.

Feel free to use the button at the top of the page to go to the recipe directly or the table of contents below to go to any section of the page you want. The recipe card has all the information that is needed to make the recipe perfectly. However, I try to provide as much useful information in the post for the readers who are looking for it.

Beerakaya is the Telugu name of the vegetable Ridge Gourd and it is called with many different names in different parts of India like Turai in Hindi, Dodka in Marathi, Heerekayi in Kannada, etc...Beerakaya is often underplayed even though there are numerous health advantages for ridge gourd, like being rich in vitamin A, hence improving eyesight, high in fiber content, remedies Anemia, promoting weight loss, relieving constipation, and more.

How to make

Now let's see how to make this yummy Beerakaya chutney with sesame seeds, using step-by-step images.

Preparation

• Wash the ridge gourd thoroughly before using. 
• Peel it just to remove the ridges, not the entire peel, and chop it into small pieces.
• Dice the tomato, peel the garlic, and remove the stems of green chilies.

How to make Ridge gourd chutney

• Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and add 1 tsp sesame seeds, 1 tsp chana dal, 1 tsp urad dal, 1 tsp cumin seeds, and a pinch of fenugreek seeds. Saute them until golden brown and you get a nice aroma.
• Now add peeled garlic cloves and green chilies to saute for a few more seconds until you see the blister marks.
• Now take this tempering without the oil into a bowl to cool down. Once cooled down, grind it and keep the jar aside.
• In the remaining oil, add chopped Beerakaya (ridge gourd) with turmeric, cover the pan saute them until they are softened.
• When the ridge gourd(beerakaya) pieces are more than 60% cooked, add the chopped tomato pieces and cook them covered until everything is softened. 

• Turn off the heat and cool the mixture down.
• In the same jar that we used to grind the tempering, add the Beerakaya tomato mixture, half of the cilantro, tamarind paste along with salt, and pulse again a few times without adding water.
• Grind it into a coarse mixture for a perfect taste, not too soft.
• Check the taste and add more salt or some red chili flakes to increase spice if needed and grind for a few more seconds.
• Remove the Beerakaya chutney into a serving bowl.
• Heat 2 tsp oil ( sesame oil preferred) in a small tempering pan and saute all the tempering ingredients until golden brown.
• Add this tempering to the Beerakaya Pachadi in the serving bowl, add in the rest of the cilantro and mix well before serving it with hot white rice and ghee.

Helpful Tips

Please check out these helpful tips to make sure you make this Beerakaya Pachadi like a pro.

• Make sure to taste one or two pieces from each ridge gourd to make sure it is not bitter. Do not use the ridge gourd if it is bitter as it might be toxic and additionally spoils the taste of the whole dish.
• Always make sure to grind this chutney into a coarse mixture without adding water( or with a just a sprinkle of water) and not a soft puree. That coarse texture gives you an awesome taste and lets you taste all the different flavors in the chutney.
• Make sure to grind the mixture of dals, seeds, garlic and chilies first to make sure they are ground properly before adding the cooked beerakaya mixture.

Variations and Substitutions

Check out these suggestions for variations and substitutions to customize the recipe as per your preference.

• In the first tempering, instead of the urad dal and chana dal you can use 1 or 2 tbsp of peanuts to saute in oil and grind.
• You can always skip tamarind and add one more tomato if you like tomato flavor better in the chutney. Personally I like to add tomatoes than tamarind in my roti chutneys.
• Fenugreek seeds add a subtle flavor in the background which kind of balances the taste of the chutney, however they are optional and can be skipped if you prefer.
• You can use all red chilies in place of green chilies if you prefer.

How to Serve

Beerakaya Roti Pachadi or Ridge gourd chutney is usually served with hot white rice with ghee on top and papad on the side. This can also be served as a side dish with dosa, idli, roti, Pongal, punugulu, etc...

Storing and Reheating

This usually stays fresh for up to 2 to 3 days in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

Roti Pachadi is usually not reheated. Instead, just leave it out on the counter an hour before eating when you want to reuse it.

Recipe

Beerakaya Pachadi | Ridge Gourd Chutney

Yamini

Beerakaya Pachadi is an easy, authentic South Indian style chutney made with Ridge Gourd. Serve it with rice and ghee, Dosa, Idli, Roti, etc for a spicy comforting South Indian meal.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  

• 300 gms or 0.7 lb Beerakaya or Ridgegourd
• 2 tsp Oil
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 large tomato or 2 small tomatoes
• 1 tsp tamarind paste
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 1 pinch fenugreek seeds methi
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp chana dal
• 1 tsp urad dal
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 5 or 6 green chilies adjust as per your taste
• ⅓ cup chopped Cilantro

Tempering at the end

• 1 tsp chana dal
• 1 tsp urad dal
• 1 sprig of curry leaves
• 2 red chilies broken
• ¼ tsp asafoetida hing

Instructions

 

Preparation for Beerakaya Pachadi

• Wash the ridge gourd thoroughly before using. 
• Peel it just to remove the ridges, not the entire peel, and chop it into small pieces.
• Make sure to taste one or two pieces from each ridge gourd to make sure it is not bitter. Do not use the ridge gourd if it is bitter as it might be toxic and additionally spoils the taste of the whole dish.
• Dice the tomato, peel the garlic, and remove the stems of green chilies.

How to make 

• Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and add 1 tsp sesame seeds, 1 tsp chana dal, 1 tsp urad dal, 1 tsp cumin seeds, and a pinch of fenugreek seeds. Saute them until golden brown for a min or two until you get a nice aroma.
• Now add peeled garlic cloves and green chilies to saute for a few more seconds until you see the blister marks.
• Now take this tempering without the oil into a bowl to cool down. Once cooled down, grind it and keep the jar aside.
• In the remaining oil, add chopped Beerakaya (ridge gourd) with turmeric, cover the pan saute them until they are softened.
• When the ridge gourd(beerakaya) pieces are more than 60% cooked, add the chopped tomato pieces and cook them covered until everything is softened. 
• Turn off the heat and cool the mixture down.
• In the same jar that we used to grind the tempering, add the Beerakaya tomato mixture, half of the cilantro, tamarind paste along with salt, and pulse again a few times without adding water.
• Grind it into a coarse mixture for a perfect taste, not too soft.
• Check the taste and add more salt or some red chili flakes to increase spice if needed and grind for a few more seconds.
• Remove the Beerakaya chutney into a serving bowl.
• Heat 2 tsp oil ( sesame oil preferred) in a small tempering pan and saute all the tempering ingredients until golden brown.
• Add this tempering to the Beerakaya Pachadi in the serving bowl, add in the rest of the cilantro and mix well before serving it with hot white rice and ghee.

Notes

• Grind the chutney to a coarse mixture for an authentic taste.
• If you prefer, skip tamarind and add one more tomato.
• Use ghee for tempering instead of oil for extra flavor if you are not following a vegan diet. 

Keyword Beerakaya in English, Beerakaya pachadi Andhra style, Ridge gourd chutney, Tomato Beerakaya Pachadi recipe

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