Sunday, May 22, 2011

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

31 comments:

  1. Nice side dish! It looks so delicious and appetizing!

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  2. Havent cooked with ridge gourd till date... Ur dish tempts me to... The platter looks so yum...

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  3. Wow wonderful side dish,sounds delicious..

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  4. A delightful curry ! Thanks for the great tip of poking the eggs to make them more tasty :-)

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  5. Wat a fabulous curry, never combined ridge gourd and eggs together,delicious!

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  6. Priya it does look delightful..Hooray for Hubby!

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  7. That plate looks so tempting.

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  8. Lucky you to have your spouse cook a curry in a jiffy!

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  9. very good combo...have to try this.....

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  10. Thats a unique and delicious combo..thanks for the recipe!

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  11. Priya-This dish looks so inviting,so authentic...love the addition of the hard boiled eggs!

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  12. Priya
    This is a unique vegetable and although not widely used in Kerala cuisine, I am looking for ways to use it.... now I can try out this recipe ---it is tempting and makes me hungry:)

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  13. super yummy curry !! delicious combo !!

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  14. delicious looking curry lovely combination

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  15. Nice combination and looks so yummy.

    Vardhini
    VardhinisKitchen

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  16. An absolutely new combo ~ kudos to your hubby :)
    US Masala

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  17. Delicious combo...a must try!!!

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  18. I make this often as it my hubby's fav...I make it even like scrambled eggs with ridge gourd!...good with rotis!

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  19. Thanks for submitting it Priya, my mum makes with Kheema, with sounds very innovative!

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  20. Pretty unusual and good looking dish !

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  21. Perfect combo...nice menu..

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  22. Your hubby makes awesome curry. Like to try them.

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  23. Such a nice flavor combination ... looks fantastic!

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  25. I never tried this vegetable.:(....the curry looks very tempting that i am gonna try it soon...bookmarked..:)

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  26. I have never tried ridge gourd with egg, we simple cook this with poppy seed paste but I will definitely try yours!
    Thanks for stopping by!

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  27. very Interesting recipe , I have personally never tried mixing both of them ...looks lovely:)

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