Ridge Gourd & Eggs Delight

Hubby Dearest works his magic & how ! The humble vegetable gets a hot make-over in his hands - draped in a variety of spices and finally sharing the lime-light with eggs, this dish was delightful in every sense.

I generally make a lentil based dish or a chutney/relish with the veggie, a few times the ridged beauty is stuffed with spices to make a dish similar to the stuffed eggplant. When I was planning something on that lines my hubby decided to don the apron & cook something different from what we usually make. In the mood for getting thoroughly indulged , I left the kitchen after making phulkas (Flat Indian Bread).The kitchen was soon buzzing with divine aroma enticing me to take a peek. After a good 30 minutes the dish was ready and the table set . It was a delicious meal !

Ridge Gourd/பீர்கங்காய்/तुरई has the botanical name of Luffa Aegyptiaca and is widely known as luffa/loofah/lufah. Not only is it eaten as green vegetable, the dried gourd is processed to remove all the insides except the fibres and is used as the body scrub/sponge. Yup the Loofahs that grace our bathrooms are from this vegetable.

This gourd is very much loved in India with various versions of the dish. A few recipes with the veggie will be making an appearance on my blog soon !


What goes :- (Serves 3)

• Ridge Gourd - 500 gms (ridges peeled & cubed)
• Eggs - 4 - boiled
• Onion - 2 - chopped
• Tomato - 4 
• Mustard & Fennel Seeds - 1 tbsp
• Mix of Butter & Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
• Curry leaves - a few- rough chopped
• Garlic - 4 to 5 pods - chopped
• Ginger - a small piece - grated
• Green Chillis - 2 to 3 - chopped - to taste
• Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
• Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp - to taste
• Sugar- 1/2 tsp - optional
• Asafoetida - 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves - a few sprigs - finely chopped - for garnish

How:-

In a wok, add the butter & olive oil and after it warms let the mustard & fennel seeds splutter. To it add the onions & stir for a few minutes. Now dump all the ingredients on the plate (pic : above) except the coriander leaves and saute well till the raw smell evaporates. If the mix becomes dry, add little water & keep stirring it once in a while. Now add the spices to it- in goes the turmeric, red chilli & asafoetida. Mix well and let it cook for a while. 

Add the chopped ridge gourd with required salt & let it cook for a while on a low heat. Sprinkle water only if required as the veggie gets mushy & starts leaving water on its own while being cooked. Add sugar if required to the gravy, it gives a contrast of flavours to the dish. Prick a few holes on the eggs with a toothpick or knife and add them to the gravy. This enables the eggs to absorb the flavours & retain them !Let the eggs simmer in the gravy till the dish attains the required consistency. 

Check for seasoning  & garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with rotis or rice !

This goes to Ananda's Culinary Smackdown Battle - Ridgegourd/Zucchini