Beerakaya Pachadi

Wash the ridge gourd, green chillies and curry leaves. Peel only the raised ridges of the ridge gourd and cut it into small pieces. Peel the garlic, slit the green chillies and break the five dry red chillies, keeping four for frying and one for tempering. Soak the tamarind in 30 ml warm water for 10 minutes, then squeeze out the pulp. Taste a small piece of the raw gourd first; if it is bitter, do not use it.

Water

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a kadai on medium flame for 1 minute until hot but not smoking. Add mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, the four dry red chillies, cumin, garlic and green chillies. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes until the dals turn light golden and the garlic loses its raw smell.

OilMustard SeedsUrad Dal (split)Chana DalDry Red ChilliCuminGarlicGreen Chilli

Add the ridge gourd, turmeric powder and salt. Mix and cook on medium flame for 10 to 12 minutes until the ridge gourd is soft and most of its water has dried up.

Ridge GourdTurmeric PowderSalt

Cool the cooked ridge gourd mixture for 5 minutes. Add it to a mixie with the tamarind pulp and 30 ml water. Grind to a coarse chutney.

TamarindWater

Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a small kadai on medium flame for 1 minute until hot but not smoking. Add mustard seeds and fry for 30 seconds until they splutter. Add the remaining dry red chilli, curry leaves and asafoetida, then fry for 30 to 60 seconds until the curry leaves turn crisp.

OilMustard SeedsDry Red ChilliCurry leavesAsafoetida

Pour the tempering over the ground pachadi and mix once. Serve with hot rice or dosa.