Peerkangai Porikari [Ridge Gourd side dish]

Peerkangai Porikari

Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 15 min
Ready In: 30 min

Ingredients:

Left: Mustard seeds, Right: Urad dal

• Ridge Gourd (peerkangai) - 3-4
• Onion - 1
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Red chili powder - 1 tsp
• Salt - 1.5 tsp
• Jeera powder - 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Urad dal - 1/4 tsp
• Oil - 2-3 tbsp
• Curry leaves - 10-15
• Water - 1/4 cup

Directions:

1. Wash and peel the ridge gourd. Cut the tips and peel. Ensure that the gourds are not bitter by tasting a piece. If a gourd is bitter, discard it. Otherwise it will cause the entire batch to become bitter as you cook it. Dice the peeled gourds. Chop the onion finely.
2. Pour the oil into the cooker and heat. Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and the urad dal. The mustard seeds will pop. Add the onion and the curry leaves. Put the flame in medium and stir until onion is golden brown. 
3. Add the diced ridge gourd, turmeric, red chili powder, salt and jeera powder and stir. Keep the flame low. There should be some water coming out of the ridge gourd. Stir for 2-3 mins.
4. Add some water to the cooker. The water is just to ensure that the vegetables don't stick to the cooker. Close the cooker, wait for 1 whistle and stop the cooker. 
5. Open the cooker once the pressure has reduced. Put the cooker on the stove again and heat until it becomes thick. Stir occasionally. 

Top: Ridge Gourd, Bottom: Peeled Ridge Gourd

Dicing the ridge gourd

Cooking the ridge gourd

Cooking the ridge gourd in the pressure cooker and thickening into porikari

Peerkangai is ready!

Variations:

• If you do not want to use a cooker, just let ridge gourd cook in the water. Use a lid to cover the pot and heat until water reduces. 
• If there is too much water and you are in a hurry, use fried gram powder to make it thicker faster. 
• Tastes good with dal and rice. Can be eaten directly with plain rice as well (let the dish be a bit watery in this case)