Ridge Gourd Chutney or Hirekai Gojju

In Kannada Ridge gourd is called Hirekai. This green vegetable is very good with fibre content in it. In olden days people used to use the whole vegetable to prepare the chutney including the skin. Since modern days farming uses lots of pesticides and harmful chemicals to boost the harvest, it is not advisable to use the skin of any vegetable. Though we can do the process of leeching to use the skin, it would have lost all the nutrients. Hence here I am using only the inner part of the vegetable. Making Ridge Gourd chutney is very easy. Seasoning with Mustard and Asafoetida is optional. Use this chutney along with rice, chapathi and akki rotti.

Preparation Time: 15 mis

How to Make Ridge Gourd Chutney :

1. Wash thoroughly and peel out Ridge Gourd outer covering. Cut it into small pieces and bake it in pressure cooker or in Microwave for 2 min.
2. In a frying pan (Oggarane Pan), heat coconut oil. Add Urad dal to it. When urad dal becomes lite golden brown, add washed and cleaned Curry leaves and Red Chillies. Fry until color of chillies changes slightly. Remove from the flame.
3. In a mixer grinder, take the above fried mixture; add grated Coconut, baked Ridge Gourd, Tamarind Pulp and Salt. Grind and make it a smooth paste like Chutney.
4. Ridge Gourd Gojju can be had with plain rice or with Dosa/Idly as well. My family simply loves it since it tastes great with plain hot rice.