Recipe: Perfect Peerkangai thuvaiyal (ridge gourd)

Peerkangai thuvaiyal (ridge gourd). Peerkangai Thogayal/Ridge gourd chutney is a south Indian side dish that pairs very well with steamed rice and rasam. Ridge gourd can be prepared in various ways, in the form of curries, as an addition to sambar, but I like it best as a thick creamy thogayal. Easy recipe for tamil style Peerkangai Thogayal made with coconut for rice.

Peerkangai Thol Thogayal, Ridge-gourd peel chutney - This is a lip-smacking thogayal recipe made with the peels of ridge-gourd. The roasted peels take a slightly charred / smoky flavor that pairs so well with coconut and is an excellent side dish to serve along with rice. Here is how to do it. You can cook Peerkangai thuvaiyal (ridge gourd) using 7 ingredients and 7 steps. Here is how you achieve it.

Ingredients of Peerkangai thuvaiyal (ridge gourd)

1. You need 1 of tender ridge gourd - small.
2. You need of Tamarind - small gooseberry size.
3. Prepare 1 1/2-2 tbsp of urad dal.
4. It's 2 tsp of sesame/gingelly oil.
5. You need 1 piece of compound asafoetida (or) ½ tsp asafoetida powder.
6. Prepare 3-4 of red chillies (according to your spice level).
7. You need of Salt as per taste.

Remove this into a dish and allow to cool. In the same pan, heat the oil. Peerkangai Thogayal is one of the popular thogayal variety which goes very well with white rice and also as an accompaniment to any type of rasam, especially with Milagau Rasam. Peerkangai can be cooked in different ways, in the form of stew and stir fry, but the thogayal is one of the most preferred option for many in Tamil Nadu.

Peerkangai thuvaiyal (ridge gourd) instructions

1. First take the ridge gourd, clean it with running water, cut off the edges, scrap the pointed ridges of the gourd..
2. Slice lengthwise and cut it into small cubes..
3. Take a pan, add oil to it. Put urad dal fry it till the dal becomes brown, now add asafoetida, and red chillies fry it. (If adding compound piece of asafoetida add it before putting urad dal and fry it. Then add urad dal).
4. Add the chopped ridge gourd and tamarind to the pan. Cover with a lid, keep the flame low and cook until the ridge gourd turns soft..
5. Remove the lid and cook for another 5 mins to allow the excess moisture to escape. Now turn off the stove, and allow the mixture to cool down completely..
6. Once it cools down, add required amount of salt to the dish and grind the ridge gourd into a thick fine paste (if needed you can add little water)..
7. Now peerkangai (ridge gourd) thuvaiyal is ready to be served with hot rice and papad!.

Adapted from the traditional Tamil Peerkangai Thogaiyal, this Ridge Gourd Peanut Chutney is made from the peel of Ridged Gourd (Tori/ Peerkangai) roasted in sesame oil with curry leaves, peanuts, chilli and spices, and ground into a fragrant chutney. The addition of peanuts adds to the texture and taste of the chutney. Ridge gourd thogayal, peerkangai thogayal a perfect thogayal recipe to pair with rice, dosa and also on bread. Thogaiyals are very handy and i almost make this on weekends and my family loves this the most, especially my daughter is a big fan of thogaiyal. Ridge gourd is known as Beerakaya in Telugu, Peerkangai in tamil and Turai in Hindi.