Peerkangai Curry

Peerkangai (Tamil), Beerakai (Telugu), Heerekai (Kannada), Turia (Hindi), Ridge Gourd (English) One of the tastiest vegetables in my opinion. No matter how much you try to overpower the dish with spices this vegetable still retains its taste. It's one with a tough exterior but once peeled you find hidden such a delicate, tender, tasty vegetable. The sooner you cook ridge gourd the better. Invariably I tend to keep it for over a week and find that it becomes a bit mature and seedy (if that's a word).


Ridge Gourd: 3 small ones or about 1/2 kg. peeled and chopped into 1 cm squares
Onions: 2 medium. chopped fine
Tomatoes: 1. chopped fine
Garlic: 2-3 pods
Sambar powder: 1 tsp
Black pepper pwd: 1/4 tsp
Idli podi (optional): 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder: a pinch

Heat some oil and add jeera, curry leaves, green chili, garlic.
Then add onions and fry till brown. Add the tomato and cook for few minutes.
Add the sambar, turmeric and pepper powders and salt. Then add the ridge gourd. Add 1 cup of water and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the idli podi (I just added this to thicken the dish once and really liked the taste). Add chopped coriander leaves. Serve with hot white rice.