Snakegourd Pachadi
Snakegourd is a ‘naatu kai’ i.e. vegetable
indigenous to India. Mom used to cook it often as my dad liked it. She would sauté
it and season it and mix it with rice and ghee for him. My husband, on the
other extreme just does not like this vegetable. My mother-in-law says when she
was pregnant with my husband, she always got sick when she went anywhere near
snakegourds and looks like that has just continued. I ould not get away with
making snakegourd curry so had to disguise it. To be fair, it is not a
vegetable with a distinct or strong flavour, atleast for me. I came across this
recipe at vahrehvah.com and gave it a try. I made it as a side dish to
pulihogare as I do not like a meal without vegetables and this was a good
combination. The good news is that it went down well my my better half as well.
Here is the recipe...
2 cups chopped snakegourd
1 teapsoon mustard seeds
1 teapsoon urd dal
Few curry leaves
3 dry red chillies
Asafoetida
Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1 cup yogurt, whisked
Cooking oil
Heat some oil and add the snakegourd. Add little
salt, turmeric powder and asafoetida and cook. Covering will quicken the
process.
Add the whisked curd and bring to gentle boil. Add
remaining salt that is required
Heat little oil for the tempering. Add the mustard
seeds, once it splutters, add urd dal, curry leaves and dry red chillies. Once
dal turns golden, add it to the snakegourd yogurt mixture and it is ready to
serve.
