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Beerakaya aka.ridge gourd is one of my favourites. It forms a great curry when used with rice and roti alike. 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. Beerakaya Tomato Kura, an everyday Andhra style vegetarian curry, simple to make and tasty. Do not omit the jaggery and saunf (aniseed) because they both give this curry a savory yet sweet flavor. Ridge gourd tomato curry goes best with rotis but tastes equally good with rice.
Ingredients:
- 1 arm sized ridge gourd( beerakai )
- 1/2 small lime sized tamarind
- 1 big onion
- 5 green chillies
- cilantro / coriander
- 1 tsp sugar
- For tadka or seasoning
- 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:
- 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!
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