Beerakaya Kothimira Pachadi – Ridge gourd Coriander Chutney
This pachadi is pure vegetarian food sans the onion-garlic twosome. Saatvik khana – fresh, healthy and light. Ridge gourd is a vegetable that is vata pacifying according to ayurveda and one of my favorites. I am always looking for recipes of sweet-flavored ridge-gourd, known as beerakai in Telugu, peerkangai in Tamil and torai/dodka in Hindi/Marathi.
I first tasted this pachadi at my friend’s home and enjoyed it very much and its been a regular at our home ever since. It was definitely a new take on a familiar and abundantly available vegetable. The addition of sesame seeds, coriander leaves and lemon juice makes it slightly special with a unique flavor and adds a nutritional punch. The advantage of using lentils and sesame seeds in the preparation of this pacchadi is, it gives a thick texture (as ridge gourd tends to be watery) and also a richer and fuller taste. The inclusion of fresh coriander leaves not only gave a herby flavor but also worked wonders in transforming the pale shade of ridge gourd into a vibrant green shade. Serve with white rice and you have a vegan meal. Left over pachadi works great as a spread over toasted brown bread.
Beerakaya Kothimira Pachadi Recipe
Prep & Cooking: 20 mts
Serves 4-5 persons
Cuisine: Andhra
.
2 medium sized ridge gourds, washed and chopped into pieces with skin
1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves
3 green chillis, chop into big pieces (adjust)
1 tbsp bengal gram/senaga pappu/chana dal
1 tsp split gram dal/minappa pappu
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tbsp sesame seeds/nuvullu/til
1 1/2 tbsps lemon juice
2-3 tsps oil
For seasoning/poppu/tadka:
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
pinch cumin seeds (optional)
1-2 dry red chillis
big pinch asafoetida/inguva/hing (optional)
few fresh curry leaves
1/2 tsp oil
1 Heat a tsp of oil in a cooking vessel, add bengal gram, split gram dal, cumin seeds and stir fry for a few seconds till the dals turn red. Remove and keep aside.
2In the same vessel, add sesame seeds and fry on medium heat for 2-3 mts. Remove and keep aside.
3In the same vessel, add the green chillis and coriander leaves and fry on medium heat for 3 mts, stirring constantly. Remove from pan and cool.
4 In the same pan, add another tsp of oil, add the chopped ridge gourd pieces and stir fry for 4-5 mts till the rawness of the vegetable goes. Remove and cool.
5 Once cool, grind the dals first till coarsely ground, add the rest of the sauteed ingredients along with lemon juice and salt and grind to a coarse paste.
6 Heat a tsp of oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and let them pop, add curry leaves and dry red chillis followed by asafoetida and stir fry for a few seconds.
7 Pour the seasoning over the ground pachadi and serve with hot rice.
Additional reading:
What is Vata dosha?
Vata pacifying diet
Vata food choices
By Sailu • Mar 31st, 2008 • Category: All Recipes, Andhra Recipes, Ayurvedic Cooking, Chutney & Pachadi Recipes, Vegetables, Vegetarian Recipes
your pics are so clear
Wow, sailu. this is a great recipe.i never tried pachadis before. this is good to start with
Wow,wat a coincidence,yesterday night I prepared the same pachadi..I’m a big fan of home made pachadi’s and beerakaya pachadi is one which stands first in my list…ofcourse next comes tomato pachadi…thanks for posting this recipe your way shailu…
Sailu, With skin on, don’t they taste bitter? Peerkangai here are big bad boys with tough skin.
Suganya, we get tender ridge gourds here that are sweet. The mature ones have a tough skin and aren’t advisable. If you are not comfortable with skin, remove skin slightly, a bit of skin gives more flavor and texture to the pachadi.
hey sailu … i just made my peerkankai with cashewnut gravy and was left with some, and was wondering if i could get hold of the chutney recipe… thanks a ton..
and thanks to taste of india due to which people are actually visiting my amateur site.. so let me know if you visited mine…
Nice one..havent tried chutney with peerkangai..Have to try this
Such a lovely pachidi recipe, Sailu! I wish i could get some fresh beerakaya here!
i used to crave to have lunch at a popular ‘mess’ in hyderabad, because they made the most amazing beerakai chutney….i should try this….
This sounds so Delish!…. Looks perfect….YUM!….I want to try this once…..
Nice pics, Sailu! This is very similar to what I make. (Mom’s recipe) Only difference is, we use tamarind juice instead of lemon juice.
Hi, great recipe. Your food looks wonderful and tempting
)
plz do visit @
http://vegetarianmedley.blogspot.com/
Hey sailu garu
this pachadi luks really yummy! i usually make the typical
‘beerakaya pottu pachadi’with tamarind n jaggery.sure this
is going to be our favourite too!
Hi sailu,
Nice one, even i try ridge gourd pacchadi frequently but little different by adding other ingredients like fried tomato, onions and tamarind instead of dals. that also will be very delicious, anyone can try that too.:)
keep posting pacchadis more sailu. looking for ‘DONDAKAI Pacchadi’ from
you.
Hi Shailu:
I made the Beerakaya-kothmira pachadi last weekend and it was truly delicious!
Thank you for an excellent recipie once again!
Arati
asalu mee beerakya pachadi supper andi sailu garu! ippude chesanu…..ammaki kuda tega nachindi…….she is impressed with me now….fianlly kitchen lo pani chesthunnanu ani….thank u so much sailugaru….
[...] Tomato Kothimira Pachadi and Beerakaaya Pachadi – Both were excellent recipes. We liked the Tomato Kothimira Pachadi with Dosas and the Beerakaaya [...]
Hi Sailu…
Till recently I thought only non veg could be very very tasty and not veg dishes… After I checked out ur site I have been trying a lot of ur recepies and I am huge fan.. yesterday I tried this chutney and it came out very very well and I received a lot of compliments from my family…. keep posting more chutney recepies..
Chitra
Wow, that looks so awsome…I am going to try it today itself!!!Thanks
I tried this one.its good.thanxs for recipe
I really liked this. I always come to your website to try some thing new.