Beerakaya Pachadi | Ridge Gourd Chutney
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.
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.