Peerkangai Thogayal | Ridge Gourd Chutney
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.
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 42kcal
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
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.
Nutrition
Calories: 42kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 17mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 67IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1mg