For many who read my blog surely know by now my penchant for chutneys. I always love to experiment new and interesting chutneys at home. Snake Gourd Curd Chutney or Potlakai Perugu Pachadi is an Andhra style chutney recipe with my twist. Pachadis/Chutneys are always an integral part of Andhra cuisine, especially those made with fresh vegetables. We can’t finish our meal without having a dollop of freshly prepared chutney. Each variety of chutney has its own taste and aroma.

Snake gourd is consumed when they are young and tender since the ripe ones may give a bitter taste. Though it is less popular compared to the other vegetables from gourd family, its nutritional values are countless. It is a low calorie and fibre rich vegetable, which belongs to the cucumber family. It is anti-inflammatory, a good detox agent and a coolant. Snake gourd when combined with yoghurt makes for a delicious dish that can be served with rice and rotis. It requires only a very few regular ingredients available in any pantry and can be prepared in a jiffy.

So, friends try out this refreshing chutney to cool you this summer and do let me know your views.

Let’s quickly move on to the recipe for Snake Gourd Curd Chutney or Potlakai Perugu Pachadi–

Step-by-Step Process in making Snake Gourd Curd Chutney or Potlakai Perugu Pachadi:

The process mainly has 4 simple steps-

Sautéing
Grinding
Mixing
Tempering

First grab and chop the required ingredients for Snake Gourd Curd Chutney or Potlakai Perugu Pachadi.

Peel the skin of snake gourd.
Chop snake gourd into semi circular pieces or however you wish to. I usually don’t remove the seeds. Feel free to use snake gourd as you wish.
Finely chop red onions.

1. Sautéing:

Heat one tablespoon oil in a pan over medium heat.
Add slit green chillies and a garlic pod and sauté for a minute.
Remove and transfer to a blender.
In the same pan add snake guard pieces, little salt and turmeric.
Sauté over medium heat till translucent for about 3 to 5 minutes. The pieces should not become too soft. You should be able to feel the crunch of the vegetable. That’s how I like to have my veggies in any vegetable chutney.

2. Grinding:

Grind sautéed green chillies and garlic pod along with cumin seeds to a coarse paste in a blender and remove.
Now grind sautéed snake gourd pieces and remove. You should have some chunks, so do not grind to a smooth paste.

3. Mixing:

Meanwhile, beat yogurt till it is smooth. Add a little turmeric to it.
In a bowl, mix together ground chilli paste and snake guard pieces along with yoghurt and chopped onions. All the ingredients must be cooled down before mixing.
Adjust salt to your taste.

4. Tempering:

Now for the tempering, heat a small pan over medium hot with one teaspoon oil and add mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add red chilli and cumin seeds.
Once the cumin seeds start to turn brown, add a pinch of asafoetida and finally add curry leaves and turn off the heat.
Transfer the seasoning once it cools down to the chutney.

Garnish with finely chopped coriander and onion pieces and serve with hot rice, rotis, paratha, idli or dosa. Btw…it can also be had as raita for vegetable pulao.

By now you must be wondering what the twist is?….The red onions with its crunch tastes great in every bite of this Snake Gourd Curd Chutney or Potlakai Perugu Pachadi and it’s out of the world!!….Trust me!!.

Print Recipe

Snake Gourd Curd Chutney or Potlakai Perugu Pachadi

Snake Gourd Curd Chutney or Potlakai Perugu Pachadi is a low calorie delicious yoghurt based snake gourd chutney that complements any meal.

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Total Time20

Course: Chutneys

Cuisine: Indian

Author: Padma

Ingredients

To Sauté and Grind:
1 Tablespoon oil
4 to 5 Green Chillies slit or broken to 2 pieces
1 Garlic pod
1 cup chopped snake gourd Potlakai or Pdalangai
¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
½ Teaspoon cumin seeds
Other Ingredients:
1 to 1½ cup thick yogurt
1 small red onion finely chopped
Required Salt
1 Tablespoon finely chopped coriander
For the Tempering:
1 teaspoon oil
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
1 dry red chilli
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
A pinch of asafoetida
A few curry leaves

Instructions

Peel the skin of snake gourd and chop to semi circular pieces
Heat one tablespoon oil in a pan over medium heat.
Add green chillies and garlic pod and sauté for a minute and set aside.
In the same pan add snake guard pieces, little salt and turmeric. Sauté over medium heat till translucent for about 3 to 5 minutes. The pieces should not become too soft. turn off the heat.
Transfer sautéed green chillies and garlic pod to a blender. Grind to a coarse paste along with cumin seeds for a few seconds and transfer to a bowl.
Grind sautéed snake gourd to a coarse paste in a blender.
Meanwhile, beat yogurt till it is smooth. Add a little turmeric to it.
Now mix together ground chilli paste and snake guard pieces along with yoghurt and chopped onions. Adjust salt.
Now for the tempering, heat a small pan over medium hot with 1 teaspoon oil and add mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add red chilli and cumin seeds. Once the cumin seeds start to turn brown, add a pinch of asafoetida and finally add curry leaves and turn off the heat. Transfer the seasoning to the chutney.
Garnish with finely chopped coriander and onion pieces and serve with hot rice, rotis, parathas, idli or dosa.

Notes

Adjust spice levels with green chillies to suit your taste.
Do not overcook snake gourd pieces. You should feel the crunch of the vegetable.
Let all the ingredients cool before mixing the chutney including the seasoning, otherwise yoghurt might curdle because of heat.
You can also include coriander to the chutney while grinding snake gourd, which gives another dimension to the chutney.

You may also like to try other popular chutney recipes from my blog- Zucchini tomato chutney, Onion chutney, Green chutney, Sweet and Sour tomato chutney, Peanut chutney, Carrot chutney and many more to come…Stay Tuned!!

Happy Cooking 🙂,

Padma