Berakaya Thokku (Ridge gourd skin) Pachadi

Berakaya/turai thokku pachadi/ridge gourd pachadi

This is an always made pachadi at home when we bring berakaya /ridge gourd from the market. Its very sad to see throwing away the ridge gourd skin when its very tender and soft. So my mother makes this variety pachadi full of fiber from its skin. This is really a very easy pachadi and goes well with hot rice, dal and a dash of ghee.

Berakaya thokku/ridge gourd skin and pieces

Source: My Mother
Cuisine: South Indian, Andhra
Prep time: 7 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Makes: 4-5 people
Ingredients:
peeled skin of 3 berakaya(s)/turai/ridge gourd
½ cup of berakaya/turai/ridge gourd pieces
½ onion, coarsely chopped
1 clove of garlic, cut into big pieces
3-4 dried red chillies
1-inch of tamarind
1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp Urad dal/black gram
2 tbsps oil
Salt as per taste


Method:

1. First clean the gourds, trim the ends and then peel the skin of berakaya/ridge gourd. Cut ½ cup of berakaya/ridge gourd pieces, you can use the other pieces for curry/stir fry.
2. Take oil in a kadai/sauce pan, to this add the gourd's peeled skin and pieces. and slowly cook for about 10 mins. Saute in between so that its not burnt.
3. Then add cumin seeds, chopped onions, garlic, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, urad dal/black gram dal and salt and saute it till the skin and pieces are fully cooked.
4. When you turn off the gas, add tamarind and red chillies and cover it.
5. Once cooled coarsely grind to paste.
6. Serve with hot rice, dal and ghee.

Note: adjust your spice level accordingly while using red chillies.

Our lunch today

You all must be wondering what did I do with the remaining pieces of berakaya/turai/ridge gourd. I sauted the pieces in oil along with onions, chillies and ¼ cup of soaked chana dal/bengal gram for about a hour or so. Saute altogether and add salt and chilli powder as per your taste. And here is our lunch today, Rice, Pappu charu (dal), berakaya thokku pachadi, sauted berakaya/turai/ridge gourd and salted Lassi.

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Pacchi Dosakai pachadi with Chintakai thokku aka Raw melon cucumber with tender tamarind pachadi (side-dish)

pachi dosakai-chintakai pachadi

This is a very traditional, authentic pachadi which mainly belongs to Southern Andhra. The main ingredients are dosakai and raw chintakai thokku (tender tamarind crushed on rock with turneric powder and salt). Not many people know this recipe, even I was not aware of this as I belong to Northern Andhra (Vizag). My mother-in-law is here and taught me this unique, tasty and interesting pachadi. She brought chintakai thokku from India and we mainly use it for chintakai pachadi and pacchi dosakai pachadi too. I am sure you will also try this pachadi for its out of the world taste!

There are many more of my MIL's recipes to be blogged, you will soon see them in my upcoming posts.

Source: My Mother-in-Law
Cuisine: South Indian, Andhra
Preparation time:10 mins
Cooking time: 7 mins
Serves: 4-5 people
Ingredients:
1 medium size dosakai (melon cucumber) weighs about 350gms
10 green chillies, cut lenghtwise (you can reduce as per your spice level)
1 tsp dhaniya (coriander seeds)
1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
Handful of toasted peanuts, peeled
3 tbsps of chintakai thokku
1 tbsp of cilantro, chopped
Salt as per taste
1tsp of oil
for tempering/tadka:
1 tsp of mustard seeds
few curry leaves
a pinch of asafeotida
1 tsp of oil

ingredients for the pachadi

Method:

1. Peel the dosakai (melon cucumber), deseed and chop into very small and thin pieces or cubes.
   
2. 
3. Heat the oil and add green chillies, saute it till cooked and be sure not to burn them.
4. To this add dhaniya (coriander seeds) and jeera (cumin seeds) and fry for a min, cool and keep aside
5. First grind roasted peanuts and add the chillies, chintakai thokku, cilantro, salt and just grind coarsely so that all ingredients are mixed well.
6. Mix this with dosakai pieces and keep aside.
7. For tempering heat a tsp of oil, add mustard seeds let them splutter, add curry leaves and fry for a few seconds on low heat.
8. Lastly add a pinch of hing/ asaefotida and pour the tempering on the pachadi, mix well and serve with hot rice.
   

Pachi dosakai-chintakai pachadi served with hot rice

For tender tamarind thokku/chintakai thokku:

Chintakai thokku/ crushed tender tamarind

One can make chintakai thokku at home by mixing the raw chintakai (tamarind) with turmeric powder and salt, mix well and keep it aside for 2-3 days for tenderizing the chintakai. Later on crush it with a Stone Mortar and Pestle and keep refridgerate in an air tight container the thokku, like this it can stay till 1 year or so. We also get the tender tamarind in Indian grocery stores, I have seen them occasionally at Edison Subzi Mandi, NJ.

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Coconut - Dalia Chutney/ Pachadi

Coconut - Dalia Pachadi

Chutneys have always contributed an important role in Indian cuisine and coconut being the main ingredient; acts as a binding factor to the chutney. There are many variations in making coconut chutney, instead of making with peanuts, today I used Dalia and green chillies. This gives a starchy, nutty flavor to the chutney with a kick of spice from the green chillies and also helps in reducing cholesterol intake. You might think I am using coconut which is full of cholesterol, but to get rid of the oils, I buy the frozen shredded coconut and squeeze the milk/oil out of it once thawed, that way I can reduced some amount of oil/fat in it. This chutney goes very well with any kind of dosas, idlis, pesarttu, etc,.

Source: My Mother
Cuisine: South Indian, Andhra
Prep & Cooking time: 10-15 mins
Serves: 4-5 people
Ingredients:
1 cup of coconut, freshly grated or frozen thawed
¼ cup of dalia / putnala pappu/chutney dal/roasted gram dal
3-4 green chillies
½ tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
3-4 karvepaku leaves/curry leaves
½ cup – ¾ cup of water
Salt as per taste.
For tadka/tempering:
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal/black gram dal/minappapu
2 dried red chillies
A pinch of hing/ asaefotida
1tsp of oil

Method

1. Grind together all the ingredients with out adding water first.
2. Add ¼ cup water at a time and grind it to smooth paste.
3. For tempering heat a tsp of oil, add mustard seeds let them splutter, add Urad dal, add red chillies and curry leaves and fry for a few seconds on low heat.
4. Lastly add a pinch of hing/ asaefotida and pour the tempering on top of the chutney, mix and serve.
   

Akki roti served with coconut-dalia chutney

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