Tuesday 7 February 2017

Ridge Gourd Huli Thove

On the surface looks very ridgy, grown as a fruit in a plant quite hardy. But remember, it is used as a veggie when still small n green n looks more as a clone of cucumber. High in fiber, low in saturated fat, rich in minerals, poor in cholesterol, Ridge Gourd and its juice is nature’s prescription to heal jaundice, cure acne, cool any burning experience associated with urine, combat acidity, contain sugar levels…and much more! What more…can be found when you read down below.....

A fabulous recipe that finds its way to a fat free feast!...This gently flavoured variant of sambar made with tender, deep green ridge gourd feels at home when served with steamed rice or rotis. Huli Thove and its twin “Majjige Huli” are proven partners in South Karnataka feasts.

Dish Type:  South Indian Vegetable Stew
Time required:  40 min
Serves:  5 persons approx.
Ingredients

For pressure cooking:
Tur dhal                       40 gms
Water                          250 ml
Turmeric powder        A pinch
Ghee                            A drop

For boiling
Ridge Gourd                ½ kg
Tamarind paste           1 tsp
Curry leaves                1 sprig
Salt to taste                 3 tsps approx.
Water                          500 ml

For grinding:
Bengal gram dhal         2 tsps
Khus Khus                  1 tsp
Coriander seeds           2 tsps
Red chillies                  5 or 6 nos. (byadagi variety)
Methi seeds                 ½ spn
Fresh raw coconut       2 tbsps.  

For seasoning:
Ghee                            1 tsp  
Mustard seeds                        ½ tsp 
Red chillies                  2 nos. (optional)
Asafoetida                   A pinch
Curry leaves                5 or 6 leaves

For garnishing
Coriander leaves   

Directions
Wash dal with water, drain and keep aside.
Wash ridge gourd, curry leaves and coriander leaves in salt water. Drain and keep aside.
Cook dal in a pressure cooker along with water, turmeric powder and a dash of ghee.
While dal is getting cooked….
Peel the skin of ridge gourd. Chop the vegetable into cubes. Keep the peels aside. They can be used for making Ridge Gourd Peel Chutney. (Recipe cooking soon!)
Boil the chopped vegetables in a vessel along with water, salt, curry leaves and tamarind paste for about 10 min. till the vegetables become just soft. (Do not overboil)
While vegetable is boiling….
You can do dry frying.
Heat a medium sized kadai.
Dry fry ingredients listed under “For grinding” one after another separately and keep transferring each of them to a plate. Let them cool thoroughly.
While it is cooling ….
Dal would have got cooked, pressure in the cooker would have subsided. Vegetables would have boiled.
Mix them together and let it boil for 5 to 10 min.
While it is boiling….
Grind the dry fried ingredients. Now add fresh grated raw coconut and grind. Add this ground mixture to the boiling dal and vegetables. Also add ½ tsp of salt. Continue boiling for another 5 to 10 min. By now, you can feel the “Ah, wow” smell!
Now is the time for seasoning…
For this, heat ghee in a small skillet. Put mustard seeds. When they crackle put broken red chillies and switch off the flame. Add asafoetida. Immediately pour it on to the boiling huli thove.
Garnish it with thoroughly washed and chopped fresh coriander leaves.
Ridge Gourd Huli Thove is now ready.

Tete - a - Tete:
You can adjust the quantity of tamarind paste in case you are using tomatoes.
If using tomatoes, quantity = ¼ kg (i.e. 3 nos. medium size. After cooking, use this for grinding)
Few other names for Ridge Gourd are Heerekayi, Peerkangai, Torai and Sponge Gourd
Due to high moisture content, consuming ridge gourd makes one feel full faster. Makes for an ideal snack between meals, helps avoid bingeing on junk foods. Being a container of few calories helps a ton with weight loss.

Recipe contributed by nonagenarian Smt. Lalithamma Ramamurthy, an expert cook



Recipes viewed here are a part of  "Mangala's Potluck" section in this blog  

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