ridge gourd chutney with coconut and curry patta : I call them my savory smoothies...


Chutney, savory smoothie or a dip if you please. Using ridge gourd and coconut, super healthy.

ridge gourd chutney with coconut and curry patta

Chutneys are my smoothies many a times. A good way to eat my vegetables in a much tastier way, sometimes with some crudites or shallow fried fritters to make the meal interesting and fun. This ridge gourd and coconut chutney is one such recipe which gets repeated quite frequently and I can have it like a warm or cold soup as well. It is so yummy you would forget everything else on the table.

I suggest having a large bowl of this chutney as a side dish for any meal or for breakfast, the way we eat chutneys with a variety of dosas (thin savory crepes, mostly made using fermented batter, mostly gluten free) or even with idlis. I keep posting such chutneys from time to time and my tomato and garlic chutney and a mixed greens chutney with spring onions has been a perennial favorite, including this ridge gourd chutney. A curry patta and sesame seeds chutney is also a regular at my place, adopted by many friends and readers as well.

I agree preparing such breakfasts is time consuming, but a few preparations the previous day and a few freezer tricks save you a lot of time when you have to actually cook. A box of peeled shallots or pearl onions, chopped coconut into the freezer and a curry patta tree growing in the garden helps a lot. Curry patta can also be made into a coarse paste and frozen in cubes, makes it all easier for those who don;t get it fresh all the time.

ridge gourd chutney with coconut and curry patta

ingredients...
(2-4 servings)
ridge gourds 5 large or about 600 gm
pearl onions about 100 gm
chopped fresh coconut bits or scraped/grated fresh coconut 3/4 cup
curry patta 20 springs
dry red chilies broken 4-5 or to taste
sesame oil 1 tsp

procedure...

Peel and cube the ridge gourd. Peel and quarter the onions. Keep aside.

Heat the oil and tip in the broken red chilies and curry patta, let them get fragrant before adding the coarsely chopped or quartered pearl onions along with salt. Let it fry for a minute and then add all the cubed ridge gourd. Stir and cover to cook.

ridge gourd chutney with coconut and curry patta

Once the gourd gets mushy and watery, empty the contents of the pan into a shallow plate and let it cool. Blend in the food processor along with coconut bits and some more fresh curry patta if you wish. The chutney is ready.

Adjust seasonings and add a little tamarind paste or lime juice if required.

You can thin down the chutney and reheat to make it a soup. The soup also tastes great on it's own.

ridge gourd chutney with coconut and curry patta

We had it with mixed grain fritters that I shallow fried in a pan that is meant for poffertjes or kuzhi paniyarams. How food connects different parts of world together :-)

My fritters this time were made using a fermented batter of urad daal (split black gram), besan (chickpeas flour) and some poha. I just mixed everything in almost equal amounts, added a little salt and water to make a thick batter and let it ferment overnight. Added lots of chopped onion to it in the morning, also added ginger, green chilies, salt n pepper to taste and the mix was dropped into this hot pan greased with ghee. Crisp fritters were ready in 10 minutes.

fermented lentil fritters

 Made a mint buttermilk with this breakfast. Actually it was a weekend brunch and I had some time to click a few pictures as well.

ridge gourd chutney with coconut and curry patta

This kind of breakfast keeps you quite full for a long time. Actually the brunch lasted us the whole day. Such meals help me stay free and laze around the house during the weekends, if we are not going out.

How would you like this chutney?

This can be a good dinner along with a ragi dosa or a mixed lentil adai or pesarettu just as a soup like I mentioned. Use zucchini or ridge gourd or even summer squashes of any type for this chutney. Just adjust the flavors as you like and get going with a healthy meal.

Comments

  1. We make this chutney this way
    Heat sesame oil, add 1/2 tsp of mustard and2 tsp of urad dall, and 2 to 3 red chillies, fry them well and keep aside, in the same pan, heat some more oil, add the chopped ridge gourd( app 1 cup) , a green chilli(small), little curry leaves and a piece of ginger. saute and grind it with salt, tamrind paste and hing. adding a tsp of fresh coconut is optional. U can mix it with rice with ghee or sesame oil and have it

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Nirupama..this recipe sound flavorful too. Ginger is a good addition. Would help many who read this blog.

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  2. Wow, look at the flavors! Nice.


    Velva

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  3. This is one of my favourite chutneys. I got to taste it for the first time when my Tamilian neighbour's mom was here and made it. I can eat it with anything and your fritters with buttermilk sounds like the perfect brunch for me :)

    Ps: I love love your recipes and have been trying a lot of them. Once I am done with the moving, I will update you on each of them :)

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    Replies
    1. I am so glad you are liking and cooking them Sakshi. Thanks for letting me know :-)

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  4. We make chutney with the peel sangeeta!!! I love all the pictures, The picture of Curry leaves, oh my, i m so fallen in love with that Pic!!! we don't get so fresh leaves here!!! :(

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