Broccoli-Seasame stir-fry

When I am very young I read about broccoli in English story books.  Most children,  in the books I read,  hate to eat broccoli  and their parents made sure they eat broccoli because it is very good for health. I used to wonder how that vegetable would look !!  I saw broccoli for the first time after I came to Germany. A green coloured cauliflower !!! I tasted it for the first time in mensa (canteen). In canteen they used to serve a cup of boiled broccoli. To tell the truth I hated it on my first encounter itself. Rajender loves this vegetable (thats very strange !!!). He has read that broccoli has many anti-cancer compounds and I am sure that is the reason for his broccoli love :).

 

The scientific name of broccoli is Brassica aleracea. It is rich in cancer fighting phytochemicals and anti-oxidants. Broccoli is high in Vitamin C, K and A. It is also a rich source of dietary fiber. It is also shown to have anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties.

I hated broccoli until I found this recipe. Whenever I came across broccoli in grocery shop I felt a sense of guilt running deep inside me.  The first reason for this is,  Rajender loves it and I am not ready to cook it for him and the second reason is,  I am avoiding such a nutritious veggie.  I was sure that Indian way of cooking cannot make this veggie any better. More and more you cook this veggie,  worser it becomes. So I tried to find a non-Indian recipe version for this vegetable (in internet, sorry I do not remember the source) and  here it is for you :

Ingredients :

Broccoli- 1 no

Lime- 1 no

Seasame- 2 tbspns

Red chilli flakes- 1 tspns

Jeera seeds- 1 tspn

Garlic- 2 cloves

Olive oil- 2 tbspns

Method :

Cut broccoli into bite sized pieces as shown in picture. Make thin slices of garlic. Squeeze out the juice from half lime piece. First, steam the broccoli until it is cooked but it should retain its firm texture. The steaming process takes approximately 5-8 minutes. Now heat a pan. Add olive oil. When the oil gets heated add seasame, jeera and sliced garlic. Fry for a few seconds until the seeds splutter and the garlic browns. Add steamed broccoli to this mixture. Simmer the flame and mix everything well. Remove from fire after 3 minutes. Sprinkle lime juice and chilli flakes on it.  Add salt to taste. Broccoli stir-fry will be ready to be served.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : Make sure you do not over-cook this vegetable. It must be cooked but should retain its firmness. Steaming is the best option because boiling in water leads to the loss of cancer- protective phytochemicals. Try to retain its bright green colour. If you cook it too much it becomes light green in colour and doesn't look or taste appetizing. Follow the exact recipe. This veggie never mingles well with our Indian spices (my personal opinion), so avoid them. Never discard broccoli stem,  thats the tastiest part.  Happy cooking !!!

Kovakkai oorugai / Dondakaya pachadi / Tindora or Indian ivy-gourd pickle

 

One more invention in my culinary journey :). It all started just yesterday.  I was looking in the fridge and found few kovakkai. They were very less for making a dish. I donno what to do with them. Then I thought of pickling them. I am seeing many of my blogger friends preparing nice pickles and I wanted to make one too. Kovakkai is very crispy, delicious to eat even when it is raw and it doesn't have any strong smell or taste. The only thing it lacks for making a delicious pickle is the sour taste. But it doesn't matter because lemon juice could do the magic. Thus started the idea of pickling kovakkai and you won't beleive, it turned out to be a very yummy and crispy pickle.  I have finished half of the pickle just by eating them like a salad. 

The crispiness of kovakkai is the highlight of this pickle. Even raw mango looses its crispiness when pickled but kovakkai remained very crispy and fresh in the lemon juice, mustard-fenugreek powder gravy. Friends, do try it. You will definitely love it. The preparation is also very, very easy. The below picture is taken immediately after making the pickle and the second picture is taken today morning. You can see that the kovakkai have shrunken in size and totally immersed in the gravy.

 

Ingredients :

Kovakkai / Tindora- 12 nos

Mustard- 1 tspn

Fenugreek seeds- 1/4 tspn

Lemon- 2 nos (medium sized)

Garlic- 5 pods (thinly sliced)

Green chillies- 4 nos (slit longitudinally)

Chilli powder- 1 tbspn ( or as per your taste)

Turmeric powder- a pinch

Asafoetida powder- few pinches

Mustard seeds- 1/2 tspn

Curry leaves- 10 leaflets

Oil- 4 tbsons

Salt to taste

Method :

Cut kovakkai as shown in picture. Slice the garlic pods. Squeeze the lemons and take out the juice. Fry mustard and fenugreek seeds in a pan until the fenugreek turns brown in colour. Now dry grind the fried mustard and fenugreek into a coarse powder. Heat oil in a pan. When the oil gets heated add mustard seeds. When they splutter add the curry leaves and garlic pieces. Saute well until the garlic browns. Now switch off the stove and to the hot oil add chilli powder, mustard-fenugreek powder, turmeric and asafoetida powder. Saute for a few seconds. Take care not to burn them. In the mean time add the squeezed lemon juice and enough salt to the kovakkai and slit green chilli pieces. Now transfer the entire hot temepered mixture to the bowl containing kovakkai. A very tasty pickle which goes very well with curd rice will be ready.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : Select only the kovakkai which are very firm and crispy. When tempering take care not to burn any ingredient. Wait for a day (if you can) before using the pickle. I have used only 12 kovakkai. If you use more adjust the ingredients according to your requirement.  Use green chillies along with kovakkai for that nice, green chilli smell. Green chilli adds a lot of flavour. Salt, oil and chilli powder should be used leniently to keep them preserved. I think they will stay  for a few weeks if you keep them refrigerated. Happy cooking !!!

Vendakkai, verkadalai varuval / Bendakaya, palli vepudu / Okra or ladies finger stir fry with groundnut kernels

 

My husband's favourite vegetable. Groundnut is also his favourite. If I serve them together he just loves it. This dish is inspired by a ladies finger and groundnut deep fry recipe which my in-laws prepare often. (I will share that recipe later). That dish tastes awesome and is served in wedding  parties or other grand functions. I like  that dish but I feel guilty to deep fry this green, beautiful veggie. I love the rich green colour of vendakkai. When I got these fresh looking ladies finger I asked Rajender what to do with it. He asked for that deep fried dish but I wanted to try this healthy version. This turned out to be very good. If you love ladies finger and groundnut you will definitely enjoy this dish.

 

Ingredients :

Ladies finger- 1/2 kg

Groundnut- a handful or as much as you wish

Onion- 1 no

Green chillies- 5 nos

Curry leaves- handfull

Mustard and jeera seeds- 1 tspn

Jeera powder- 1 tspn

Oil- 3 tbspns

Salt to taste

Method :

Wash and wipe the ladies finger well. Now cut them into small pieces as shown in picture. Cut onions and green chillies into small pieces. Heat oil in a pan. When the oil gets heated add mustard and jeera seeds. When they splutter add the onion pieces, green chillies, curry leaves, enough salt and groundnut kernels. Saute well until the onions turn translucent. Now add the okra pieces and saute on low flame. Before removing from fire add jeera powder and mix well. Remove from fire when the okra is cooked. This tasty, healthy stir-fry is a great accompaniment for rice and chappathi.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : The main thing is to retain the real taste of okra. Do not overfry them. Let them retain their original colour and flavour. Use small groundnut kernels for better taste. Here I don't get them. If you like you can add chilli powder too instead of green chillies. If you like the groundnut to be crispy deep fry them in oil and add to the ladies finger at the end of preparation. Happy cooking !!!

Dondakaya vepudu / kovakkai varuval / Tindora or Indian Ivy-gourd stir-fry

 

 

Rajender prepares this dish wonderfully. Only after marriage I got to taste kovakkai (raw tindora). When I am young I used to eat kovapazham (ripe tindora) which grew near our home. The colour of the fruit is so attractive children will immediately love them. The tindora fruit is also a favourite of parakeets. In tamil literature, tindora fruit colour is compared to the lip colour of women :D.

A dish with raw kovakkai is very new to me and I loved watching Rajender prepare it. He made it so well this veggie immediately became my favourite. When my mom and her sister came here, Rajender prepared this for them too. My amma and periyamma were all in praise for this dish.

The scientific name for Indian ivy gourd is  Coccinia grandis. Young leaves, long slender stem tops,  raw and ripe fruits of this plant are consumed in many parts of  Asia. The root and leaf extract of this plant are used in the treatment of diabetes due to their hypoglycemic properties When I write this I remember what Rajender tells me when I eat the raw ivy gourd '' do not eat it you will get 'mathi marapu' ''. 'Mathi marapu' means disturbances in your memory. Now  I understand the reason behind it. If you become hypoglycemic naturally your memory power goes off  :). The fruit is a very rich source of many micronutrients including vitamin A and C.  Like any other vegetable this tindora is also rich in fiber.

 

Ingredients :

Kovakkai / Timdora / Ivy gourd- 1/4 kg

Onion- 1 no

Green chillies- 4 nos

Curry leaves- handful

Channa dhal and urid dhal- 1/2 tspn

Mustard, jeera seeds- 1/2 tspn

Chilli powder- 1/2 tspn 

Turmeric powder- a pinch

Oil- 2tbspns

Salt to taste

Method :

Wash and make thin slices of kovakkai as shown in picture. Cut onions and green chillies into small pieces. Take oil in a pan. When the oil gets heated add channa dhal and urid dhal. When they become brown and emit a nice aroma add mustrd and jeera seeds. After they splutter add onions, green chillies, curry leaves, a pinch of turmeric and salt to taste. Saute well until the onions turn translucent. Now add the thinly sliced kovakkai pieces. Simmer the flame and saute the entire mixture on a low flame. Constantly stir the mixture.  Add the red chilli powder prior to removing them from fire. Remove from fire when kovakkai browns a bit and turns crispy. A very delicious stir-fry will be ready to be savoured. This dish makes an excellent companion for chappathis or for hot rice.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : If you need a crispy fry make thin slices. Use only the raw ivy gourds. Discard them if they have a reddish tinge inside. When you slice them they must have a firm texture. Curry leaves add lots of flavour to this dish. If you like you can also add thinly sliced garlic when sauting onions. Happy cooking !!!

Pachai karamani poriyal / Achinga payaru thoran / Yard long beans stir fry

   

Another beans recipe!! I am fond of this long, green veggie too. This is called as achinga payaru in malayalam and in tamil they call it as karamani. I have never seen this in Madurai. But after coming to Germany I saw them in a grocery shop and explained its physical characteristics to my mom. She only told me that this is achinga payaru and gave me a recipe to prepare it. They taste very yummy and full of nutrients too. Try it you will love it.

It is called as yard long bean, asparagus bean, snake bean or chinese long bean in English. Its scientific name is Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis. As all beans they are rich in fiber. They are also a good source of protein, vitamin A, thiamin, Iron, riboflavin, phosphorous, vitamin c, calcium and pottasium.

 

Ingredients :

Yard long beans- 1/2 kg

Onion - 1no or 10 shallots

Green chillies- 3 nos

Curry leaves- 10 leaflets

Coconut scrappings- 2 tbspns

Jeera powder- 1 tspn

Red chilli powder- 1 tspn

White seasame seeds- 2 tspns

Mustard, jeera and channa dhal- 1 tspn (for tempering)

Oil- 2 tbspns

Salt to taste

Method :

Cut beans into pieces as shown in picture. Cut onions and green chillies into small pieces. Heat oil in a pan. Add channa dhal, when it browns add seasame, mustard and jeera seeds. When they splutter add onions, green chillies, curry leaves and turmeric powder. Fry until the onions turn translucent. Now add the cut beans pieces and a handful of water. Fry well on low flame until the beans are cooked. Now add the coconut scrappings, jeera, redchilli powder and salt to taste. Mix everything well. Saute for another 3 minutes on a low flame and remove from fire. Tasty beans fry is ready which goes very well with chappathi and with hot rice.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : Make sure you do not overcook them. The beans should retain their colour and their crunchiness. Adding white seasame seeds imparts a very unique taste to this dish. Coconut scrappins give that extra aroma and rcih taste. Happy cooking !!!

Mullangi sambhar / Radish sambhar

Sambhar is very versatile. You can use almost any vegetable to make this wonderful dish . It brings out the real taste and flavour of the vegetable without overpowering it. Eventhough any sambhar is a sambhar (:D) you can't find many similarity in taste between drumstick sambhar and radish sambhar. Sambhar acquires its taste depending on the vegetable used.

Radish sambhar is loved by many. My dad is a great fan of this humble vegetable. Sometimes I think radish is born to pair with sambhar. They make a wonderful combo !!! I hardly could love radish this much in any other form.

I brought a bunch of fresh radish from farmers market. They looked so lovely. I rarely find such small, tender ones here. Most radishes available in grocery stores are almost a feet tall. They are so big and so tall, I normally do not feel like buying them at all. Even if I buy them what will I do with such a big one? They do not taste good too. These small radishes were sooooo tasty I finished half of them when cutting itself.

Scientific name of radish is Raphanus sativus. Radish is a root vegetable and it is a rich source of fiber, vitamin C, folic acid,  pottasium and magnesium. They are considered to be very good for constipation, gall stones, kidney stones and even for cancer. Here comes the sambhar recipe :

Ingredients :

Toor dhal- 1 cup

Radish- 4 nos

Onion-1 no

Green chillies- 2 nos

Tamarind- size of a small lemon

MTR sambhar powder- 1 tbspn

                  or

Coriander powder - 1 tbspn

and Chilli powder- 1 tspn

Turmeric powder- a pinch

Asafoetida powder- a pinch

Fenugreek seeds- 1/2 tspn

Jeera and mustard seeds- 1 tspn (for tempering)

Coconut scrapping (fresh or dry)- 1 tbspn

Curry leaves- a handful

Coriander leaves- few strands (minced finely)

Oil- 3 tbspns

Salt to taste

Method :

Cut radish as shown in picture. Wash and cook toor dhal with a pinch of turmeric, asafoetida and with a few drops of oil until it turns soft. Soak the tamarind and extract its juice. Mince onions and slit green chillies into two. Heat oil in a pan. When it gets heated add fenugreek seeds. Saute until it turns brown and emits a nice aroma. Now add mustard and jeera seeds. When they splutter add onions, green chillies and curry leaves. Saute until the onions turn translucent. Add cut radish pieces and saute for a minute. Now add sambhar powder or coriander and chilli powder. Fry for a minute, add tamarind juice and enough water. Bring it to a boil and simmer the mixture until radish pieces are cooked. Now add the cooked dhal and simmer for another five minutes. Add salt to taste and garnish with minced coriander leaves and coconut scrappings at the end of preparation. A very tasty sambhar will be ready. Serve with hot rice and a suitable side-dish.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : Consistency of the dhal is important for a good sambar. Do not overcook the dhal and make it into a paste. Smabhar  should not be too thick. It must be on the watery side and do not overcrowd sambhar with vegetables. When you make radish sambhar it is wise to avoid any other vegetable. I never add coriander to any other sambhar but adding coriander to radish sambhar gives it a nice flavour without overpowering the radish smell. Happy cooking !!!

Kothavarangai poriyal / Goru chikudukaya koora / Cluster beans stir-fry

I love this vegetable a lot. We call it as kothavarangai or cheeni avarakai. In telugu it is called as goru chikudukaya, matti kaya or gokarakaya. In hindi it is called as gavar. In english it is called as guar or cluster bean. When my mom makes it I am the one to finish it off by eating it just like a snack. Vatral made out of cheeni avarakai is another delicay which has a unique taste and flavour. I am very happy to see fresh cluster beans in grocery shop. I picked quite a lot and made it in a way I like most. So here is the recipe and the nutritional benefits of this wonderful veggie.

The scientific name of this annual legume is Cyamopsis tetragonolobus. It is high in fiber and proteinaceous too. But it lacks an essential amino acid called methionine. Whole-wheat flour is rich in methionine and when  this beans is eaten along with chappathi made with whole wheat flour, the combination is comparable to meat or egg because it is then a complete protein meal. Guar gum is primarily extracted from the endosperm of this bean. Guar gum is found to hinder with cholesterol absorption and thus helps in reducing serum LDL and triglycerides. It also increases glucose tolerance. So it is an excellent veggie for diabetics and for dieters.

Ingredients :

Kothavarangai or cluster beans- 250 gms

Onion- 1 no or 10 shallots

Green chillies- 5 nos (adjust according to your taste)

Curry leaves- a handful

Coconut scrappings- 3 tbspns

Jeera powder- 1 tspn

Pepper powder (coarsely ground)- 1 tspn

Turmeric powder- a pinch

Mustard, jeera and channa dhal- 1 tspn (for tadka)

Oil- 3 tbspns

Salt to taste

Method :

Wash and tear the beans into small pieces with your nails (I think this is the reason for the name goru (nail) chikudukaya). Mince onions and green chillies. Heat oil in a pan. When the oil is hot enough do the tempering by ading jeera, mustard and channa dhal. When the seeds splutter add onions, green chillies, a pinch of turmeric and curry leaves. Fry for sometime until the onions turn translucent. Now add the kothvarangai and sprinkle two handfuls of water. Saute until the water evaporates. Simmer and fry on low flame until the beans are done. Now add jeera powder, pepper powder and coconut scrapping. Mix well and saute for a few more minutes. Add salt to taste at the end of preparation. A very tasty kothavarangai poriyal will be ready. Serve with chappathi or rice.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : It is very important to retain the firmness of the beans. Do not cook until it becomes mashed and soft. My dad always said that vegetables taste best when they are half-cooked. That is very true and the half-cooked veggies are healthier too. Pepper adds a nice aroma to this dish. Coconut scrappings impart a nice taste and flavour. Happy cooking !!!

Vendakkai finger chips / Ladies finger chips / Bendakaya vepudu

 

A very simple recipe with the gorgeous ladies finger. It will suit people who dislike its gluey nature. Children will absolutely love it. I loved it the first time I made it and finished it within no time.

  

Ingredients :

Ladies finger / Vendakkai- 250gms

Gram flour / besan- 2 tbspns

Rice flour or corn flour- 2 tbspns

Red chilli powder- 1 tspn 

Jeera powder- 1 tspn

Pepper powder- 1 tspn

Salt to taste

Oil- 4 tbspns

Method :

Mix besan, rice or corn flour, red chilli powder, jeera powder and pepper powder with enough salt and make a thick paste using water. Now cut the vendakkai as shown in picture. Apply a thin coating of this flour mixture to vendakkai. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan and slowly roast the marinated ladies finger until they become crispy and golden brown in colour. It makes a tasty, fiber rich snack or it goes very will with dhal and rice.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : Make a thick paste with the ingredients. Do not make a thick coating  of batter on ladies finger. Make a very thin coating. Slow roast the ladies finger to get the desired consistency. If you do it on high flame the ladies finger for sure will get charred. Happy cooking !!!

Vazhaipoo kola urundai / Arati puvvu vada

 

Vazhaipoo kola urundai is one of my favourite dish .  Plantain flowers not only look very beautiful but they are very tasty too.  Each and every part of banana plant is used in cooking. Since there are lots of plantain farms near my home we get these infloresence more often. When I come from school I can easily say whether there is plantain infloresence (Infloresence is the collection of banana flowers and it looks like as shown in the first picture of the collage)  in my home just by the smell of it. If you keep the plantain infloresence in your kitchen the entire kitchen smells very good. It is not like the usual  sweet scent of most flowers. It is different  (like the raw plantain smell, but more stronger ) and somehow the smell of these flowers stimulates my apetite. 

My dad and myself are big fans for these plantain flowers. My dad had many sweet memories associated with this. He used to remember his granpa more often. He would say that his granpa is such a nice and kind human being who is very fond of his grandchildren. When he goes to the plantain farm he used to bring these flowers for his grandchildren. The reason is, you can find honey dew within each banana flower and that nectar  tastes very sweet and refreshing. You should taste them....wow!!! They are one of my childhood favourites. When the plantain flowers are fresh and brought direct from the farm and most importantly in the early morning, you can find a drop of jelly-like, nectar inside each mature flower. My dad used to remember how his grandpa used to come from the farm with these banana infloresence hanging arond his neck, tied together by a rope and with a broad smile in his face. The grandchildren will be eagerly waiting for his arrival. The liquid which oozes out from the parts of plantain plant produces a nasty stain in the clothes. But his grandpa never cared about that. Still my great grandad's white shirts with banana stain is lying in my home. My dad kept them as a treasure and used to wear them during his granddads death anniversary every year, for sometime. That gave him  a kind of satisfaction. My great granddad's sole aim was to see the happy smile of his grandchildren when he brings them something to eat and I must say that my dad came from a very poor family and the children rarely had any rich snacks. When my dad explains all this I loved to see the light in his eyes. He will be deeply involved in his chilhood memories of his grandad and the enjoyment they had with these flowers when they are young. I am sure those lovely memories made him to teach me and my sister about these banana nectar and where to look for them :).

How to clean the banana flower :

The first picture of the collage shows the banana infloresence. Each bunch of banana flowers are covered by the purple coloured bract. Remove each bract you will find the slim, nectar-rich, tubular, toothed, white flowers. They are shown in the second picture of collage. I should confess that I never get a fresh plantain flower from the shops here. That is why you see a black area in the flowers. They are not spoiled but they have become black as a result of long storage and exposure to air. Now see the third and the fourth picture of collage. They demonstrate you which parts of the flowers are non-edible and has to be removed. The parts that has to be removed are too thick so they cannot be used in cooking. The fifth picture shows  the  immature infloresence you will find when you remove  a few layers of outer bracts and flowers. Just peel the banana infloresence layer by layer and you will find this immature collection of flowers at the center. They taste very, very, very yummy. When my mom is peeling the infloresence and collecting the flowers I will be eagerly waiting for this. You can just eat them raw :). The sixth picture of the collage shows the collection of flowers after removing the two non-needed parts. Now everything is ready for preparing the recipe. The more mature flowers will be on the outer layer of the infloresence and they become the banana or plantain in future and the lesser mature ones are more inside. When you buy a banana flower seperate the flowers into very mature and less mature ones. More mature flowers can be used for making this dish and the less mature ones and the beautiful immature infloresence in the fifth picture of the collage (if at all it is left without being eaten by you or your children) can be used for making yummy pulikuzhambu. This link has the best pictures please have a look.

Banana flower is rich in fiber. It is considered as an excellent remedy for painful mensturation and other menstural irregularities. It is thought to be good for lactating mothers. Beleive me this is very tasty too :).

 

Ingredients :

Banana flower (cleaned and chopped finely, mature ones on the top of the infloresence)- 1 cup

Fried bengal gram dhal / pottukadalai- 1/2 cup

Onions- 1/2 or 4 shallots

Coconut meat- 2 one inch pieces

Fennel seeds- 1 tspn

Pepper corns- 1 tspn

Dried red chillies- 5 nos (adjust according to your taste)

Ginger- 1/2 inch piece

Garlic-2 pods

Oil for deep frying

Salt to taste

Method :

Use the mature flowers of banana blossom or infloresence for this recipe. Remove the non-wanted parts from the individual banana flowers as shown in picture. Then cut them into small pieces and soak them in buttermilk. Now slice the coconut pieces. In a food processor grind together the banana flowers, fried gram dhal, fennel seeds, pepper corns, coconut pieces, dried red chillies, ginger and garlic with enough salt. The ground batter should be similar to vada batter. Now make small balls of the batter and fry them in hot oil. Repeat this process in batches. Very, very tasty kola urundai is ready to be relished.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : Selection of banana blossom or infloresence is very important. Look at the first picture of the collage. The blossom should have a red colour at the bottom. Then you can be sure that this blossom tastes good without the bitter taste. There are many varieties of banana and only the flowers from some banana varieties (country variety banana blossoms) taste good without the bitter taste. The removing of the unwanted parts from the flowers is a long job but be patient the final product will make you happy.  The unwanted parts has to be removed only from the mature flower and in the immature, little flowers they pose no problem since they are soft and edible. The liquid oozing from the banana blossom creates nasty stain on clothes and even in your hand. Take care not to bring them in contact with the clothes and apply oil in your hand to prevent staining of your hands when processing the flowers for cooking. Soak the cut flowers in buttermilk. This helps in preventing the unpleasant, black colour that they acquire when they are exposed to air. Do not forget fennel seeds and pepper corns. They add zest to the dish. If the batter has become thinner and watery add corn flour or rice flour to make it thicker. These kola urundai make excellent snacks for young children and adults. They taste yummy with 'pappu sadham' too. Happy cooking !!!

Peerkangai sambhar/ Beerakaya sambhar (Ridge gourd sambhar)

Peerkangai  is one of my favourite vegetable but only when the skin is removed (not scraped out!!! note the difference) totally. In my home my mom used to remove the skin completely before making dishes out of it's smooth flesh. I know very well that cooking this vegetable with skin intact satisfies part of your daily fibre requirements.  But sometimes you love the taste you grew up with . This vegetable too has a mild sweet tinge to it. One important thing about this vegetable is, please taste it before using it for cooking. Some peerkangai has a bitter taste to it. You can't use it for cooking. My mom used to say that, snake has crawled over the peerkangai, that is why it has a bitter taste to it . So coming back to the point,  I have seen people using it for making poriyal, kootu and chutney but using this vegetable for making sambhar is not that usual, atleast in our household. When I ate peerkangai sambhar for the first time I immediately liked it. Here goes the recipe for it :

Ingredients

Peerkangai- 2 nos

Toor dhal- 1 cup

Onion- 1 no

Garlic- 2 cloves (crushed)

Green chillies- 3 nos

Curry leaves

Coconut scrappins- 2 tbspns

Coriander powder- 2 tbspns

Chilli powder- 2 tspns

Tamarind size of a very small lemon ( soak it and extract juice from it)

Mustard, fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds for tempering

A pinch of asafoetida

Salt and oil

Method

Cook toor dhal and keep it aside. For sambhar the dhal should not be cooked into a paste. In madurai they used to say 'paruppu malarthiruchanu paru', it means check whether the dhal has bloomed (very beautiful word ofcourse!!!). The dhal should be cooked but should not be made into a paste. Now remove the skin of peerkangai completely. Then cut them into bit-sized pieces. Keep aside. Cut onions and green chillies. Crush the garlic cloves. Heat oil in a kadai. When it gets heated add the fenugreek. When it is brown add mustard and cumin seeds. Let them splutter.  Then add onions, curry leaves, crushed garlic and a pinch of turmeric powder. Saute them till the onions become translucent. Then add the ridge gourd pieces and saute for a minute. Now add coriander powder, chilli powder and a pinch of asafoetida (perungayam). Saute for few seconds (take care not to burn them). After that add the tamarind juice and enough water. Bring the mixture to boil. Once peerkangai is cooked add salt to the mixture. Now add the cooked toor dhal to it. Boil for a few minutes and simmer it for 5 more minutes. Before simmering you can add coconut scrappings.  Tasty, tasty sambhar is ready to serve.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe :

Making sambhar is itself  an art. I will say what you should not do inorder to get a good sambhar .

1) Please do not cook the dhal and vegetables together in a cooker (might be you can save time but not your sambhar ). The vegetables should always be cooked in tamarind water. If you mix everything and make it into a paste, then it can no more be called as a sambhar.

 

2) For a good sambhar tempering is very important. I have seen people who cannot wait till the oil gets heated. They just throw in the mustard and other tempering ingredients before the oil gets heated. Never do it. First add fenugreek seeds in well-heated oil. When the seeds turn brown and emit nice aroma add the mustard and jeera seeds. Wait till the mustard splutters before you add onions. This kind of tempering brings out the real aroma of sambhar.

3) Never use a store bought sambhar powder. In my experience MTR is OK and the other sambhar powders are no good. Instead of sambhar powder use coriander powder and chilli powder seperately.  

4) Never add too much of tamarind or too little of tamarind. If you add too much of tamarind it becomes a pulikuzhambu and too little of tamarind makes it taste not so good. So be careful when adding tamarind juice. Add little by little and adjust according to the taste.

5) As I have already said do not make dhal into a paste. The dhal must be cooked and the individual lentils should be visible clearly.

6) If you get shallots (small onions) always use it instead of the big ones.

If you follow this I am sure your sambhar will taste good .

Happy cooking!!!