Before diving right into preparing Ridge gourd stir fry, take moment to check if the ridge gourd you have bought from the market is not bitter. Cut out a tiny piece of the ridge gourd and taste it. If it is bitter, better discard it and use another one. Once you have established that the ridge gourd is good to go, you can start with the recipe. Ridge gourd stir fry is a regular dish in my home that is easy to prepare. It is sweet and spicy and goes well with rice and lentils curry.
Ingredients:
- 1 large Ridge gourd
- 2 tablespoons Oil
- 1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon Urad dal
- 1 Onion, chopped
- 1 sprig Curry leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt or as required
- 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Chilli powder
- 1 tablespoon Coconut flakes
Preparation:
Peel the skin off, wash and chop the ridge gourd.
Heat oil in a pan over a medium flame and add mustard seeds. Once it crackles, add in urad dal and allow it to brown. Add chopped onion and curry leaves. As the onion turn translucent, add in the chopped ridge gourd.
The ridge gourd gets cooked in its own water that oozes out while its on heat. Fry them all till water content evaporates, and the bright whitish green colour of the ridge gourd turns a bit dull as it gets cooked. Now add salt, turmeric powder and chilli powder. Mix them through. Finally add the coconut flakes, give a quick stir and take it off the heat.
Serve ridge gourd stir fry with rice and sambhar or dal.
Notes:
- Make sure to check the bitterness of the gourd. If it is bitter, discard it and use another one.
- Instead of coconut flakes, you can use freshly grated coconut which gives an even better taste to the dish.
