Thogayal is a comfort food in every South Indian house and this Peerkangai thogayal (Ridge gourd chutney) is no different. After a busy day of work, it is a pleasure to come home to steaming hot rice with a dollop of ghee and this ridge gourd thogayal.
Thogayals are very easy to make and take hardly 15 minutes from start to finish. This peerkangai thogayal might take a little longer as we have to peel the ridge gourd's skin, which might take a little time. But if that is prepped, then it is as simple as sauteeing the vegetable with some lentils and spice and then grinding the mixture.
We have a bounty crop of peerkangai this year. Only two of the several seeds that we sowed survived but those two have been producing non-stop. I have been making this ridge gourd thogayal once a week. The other dish that I have been making regularly is the peerkangai poricha kuzhambu.
And as the saying goes, necessity is the mother of all inventions, I also tried to make ridge gourd subzi this time for roti and it was delicious. And before the season ends, I will be making it again. And this time, I will be taking pictures to write the post.
Why make this thogayal?
Comfort food - thogayal is the comfort food and it is delicious to eat for dinner on a busy weeknight or a relaxing weekend.
Easy to make - Peerkangai thogayal is very easy to make. Once the ridge gourd is prepped, it takes just about 15 minutes to make this from start to finish.
Great side dish - This ridge gourd thogayal tastes amazing not just with rice but also as a side for idli, dosai, and upma.
Gluten-free and vegan - If you are following a GF diet, then this thogayal is a great choice. Make sure to use certified GF asafoetida.
Ingredients and substitutes
Check the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact measurements and printable detailed recipes.
Ridge gourd / Peerkangai / Torai - Star of the dish and I am using 2 medium freshly harvested ridge gourd from our garden.
Lentil - We need urad dal / black gram dal to make the thogayal.
Chilies - I have used just red chilies in the thogayal, but we could use both green chilies and red chilies together.
Tamarind - A small marble size. We could use tamarind paste instead and will need about a teaspoon.
Oil - I like to use Indian sesame oil (gingelly oil) or coconut oil. but we could use any cooking oil.
Mustard seeds
Asafetida
Salt
Step-by-step process
- Prep the ridge gourd - Select ridge gour free of any blemishes and they need to be firm to touch. Cut the edges and peel the skin. The skin of the peerkangai can be a little hard, but they are easy to peel. To make thogayal from the peerkangai, we don't even have to peel the skin entirely. It is alright to leave a little here and there.
- Chop the peeled ridge gourd into small even sizes and keep them aside.
- Heat a pan and add about a teaspoon of oil. Now add mustard seeds and when it crackles, add the urad dal and red chilies. If adding a mix of red and green chilies, add the green chilies along with the red chilies.
- Fry the seasoning until they are golden brown. At this stage add the asafoetida and mix well. Now remove the fried seasoning in a bowl.
- In the same pan, heat 2 more teaspoons of oil. Add the chopped ridge gourd and saute. The ridge gourd will start leaving moisture and it will start getting soft. It will take just a few minutes for the ridge gourd to soften.
- Halfway through the cooking process, add the tamarind piece. This will help the tamarind to soften a bit. If using tamarind paste, we can add it when grinding.
- Once the peerkangai cooks well, turn off the heat and let everything cool down.
- Add the seasoning to the mixer jar and grind it into a coarse powder. Now add the cooked ridge gourd to the blender jar. Add salt needed and grind them together.
- Grind the thogayal without adding water. The ridge gourd should have enough moisture. Grind it into a smooth paste.
- Serve the thogayal over hot rice and a drizzle of ghee.
Expert tips
- If you are in the same position as me and have too many ridge gourds from the garden, peel them, chop and then freeze them in a freezer bag. We can make the thogayal with frozen ridge gourd as well.
- Adjust the chilies based on your spice level. The red chilies I got this time are very spicy and have to use just a couple.
- We could add about ½ cup of grated coconut along with ridge gourd to make the thogayal as well.
- We can grind the thogayal a little coarse as well. My husband likes the thogayal smooth, whereas my mother grinds it a little coarse.
Frequently asked questions
We can leave a little peel when making thogayal. Especially when making with homegrown peerkangai as I don't have to worry about pesticides.
Tamarind adds the much-needed sour flavor to the otherwise neutral thogayal. We could use a little lemon juice if tamarind is not available.
Peerkangai can be bitter sometimes. If the ridge gourd is just a little bitter, the spices that we add when making thogayal balance it. But if the vegetable is too bitter, it can ruin the flavor and we might have to discard it.
Peerkangai thogayal can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Make sure to store them in an airtight container.
More Thogayal recipes
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Recipe
Peerkangai Thogayal | Ridge Gourd Chutney
Equipment
- Blender
- saute pan
Ingredients
- 2 medium Peerkangai / Ridge gourd /Torai (about 2 cups chopped)
- 1 Tablespoon Oil
- 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 2 Tablespoon Urad dal / Ullutham Paruppu
- 3 Red chilies
- ½ teaspoon Asafetida
- Small lime size Tamarind (about 1 teaspoon if using tamarind paste)
- As needed Salt
Instructions
- Prep the ridge gourd - Select ridge gour free of any blemishes and they need to be firm to touch. Cut the edges and peel the skin. The skin of the peerkangai can be a little hard, but they are easy to peel. To make thogayal from the peerkangai, we don't even have to peel the skin entirely. It is alright to leave a little here and there.2 medium Peerkangai / Ridge gourd /Torai
- Chop the peeled ridge gourd into small even sizes and keep them aside.2 medium Peerkangai / Ridge gourd /Torai
- Heat a pan and add about a teaspoon of oil. Now add mustard seeds and when it crackles, add the urad dal and red chilies. If adding a mix of red and green chilies, add the green chilies along with the red chilies.1 Tablespoon Oil, 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds, 2 Tablespoon Urad dal / Ullutham Paruppu, 3 Red chilies
- Fry the seasoning until they are golden brown. At this stage add the asafoetida and mix well. Now remove the fried seasoning in a bowl.½ teaspoon Asafetida
- In the same pan, heat 2 more teaspoons of oil. Add the chopped ridge gourd and saute. The ridge gourd will start leaving moisture and it will start getting soft. It will take just a few minutes for the ridge gourd to soften.2 medium Peerkangai / Ridge gourd /Torai
- Halfway through the cooking process, add the tamarind piece. This will help the tamarind to soften a bit. If using tamarind paste, we can add it when grinding.Small lime size Tamarind
- Once the peerkangai cooks well, turn off the heat and let everything cool down.
- Add the seasoning to the mixer jar and grind it into a coarse powder. Now add the cooked ridge gourd to the blender jar. Add salt needed and grind them together.As needed Salt
- Grind the thogayal without adding water. The ridge gourd should have enough moisture. Grind it into a smooth paste.
- Serve the thogayal over hot rice and a drizzle of ghee.
Notes
- If you are in the same position as me and have too many ridge gourds from the garden, peel them, chop and then freeze them in a freezer bag. We can make the thogayal with frozen ridge gourd as well.
- Adjust the chilies based on your spice level. The red chilies I got this time are very spicy and have to use just a couple.
- We could add about ½ cup of grated coconut along with ridge gourd to make the thogayal as well.
- We can grind the thogayal a little coarse as well. My husband likes the thogayal smooth, whereas my mother grinds it a little coarse.
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