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Ridge Gourd Chutney or Beerakaya Pachadi

Ridge gourd chutney or Beerakai pachadi is a lush green delicious chutney prepared with ridge gourd, green chillies, garlic, tamarind and other spices. It is a good condiment to idli and dosa and also tastes heavenly with rice and a dollop of ghee.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 4 to 6 servings
Author: Padma

Ingredients

  • To Shallow Fry:
  • 1 Tablespoon oil
  • 1 Ridge gourds wash & peel thick stripes on the ridges and cut into cubes
  • 10 to 12 green chillies broken into 2 pieces
  • 2 garlic pods peeled
  • ½ cup coriander chopped
  • To grind along with:
  • Cranberry size Tamarind
  • 1 garlic pod
  • 1 teaspoons cumin seeds
  • Required salt
  • For the Tempering:
  • 1 Tablespoon oil
  • 1 teaspoon Black gram urad dal
  • 1 teaspoon Bengal gram channa dal
  • 2 dry red chillies
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • A pinch of asafoetida
  • A sprig of curry leaves

Instructions

  • To shallow fry:
  • Heat oil in a pan over medium heat and shallow fry all the ingredients under the section "To shallow fry" one after the other.
  • First fry green chilies for a minute and remove.
  • Now add garlic pods, fry till light brown and remove.
  • Add ridge gourd pieces and sauté till slightly soft for 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
  • Turn off the heat and add minced coriander and stir in the remaining heat of the pan.
  • Let the fried mixture cool down.
  • To Grind:
  • First grind all the shallow fried ingredients except ridge gourd pieces along with ingredients under the section "To grind" in an electric blender to a smooth paste.
  • To this add ridge gourd pieces and grind to a coarse paste. and transfer to a bowl.
  • For the tempering:
  • For the tempering:: Use ingredients under the section "For the tempering".
  • Heat oil in a small pan over medium heat and add black gram (urad dal) and bengal gram (channa dal).
  • When the lentils start to turn light brown add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and red chilies.
  • Once the mustard seeds splutter and add asafoetida, turn off the heat and finally add curry leaves.
  • Transfer the tempering to the Ridge gourd chutney.
  • Serve Ridge gourd chutney or Beerakaya pachadi with idli, dosa, paniyaram, medu vada, roti, paratha or just with hot rice and a dollop of ghee and a pappad on the side.

Notes

The chutney can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for about a week.
Before using ridge gourd, check the taste of it by eating a small raw piece as sometimes the ridge gourd can be bitter. if it is bitter, you can use just the peel for the chutney.
Adjust your spice level accordingly with green chillies to suit your taste..
Green chillies can also be replaced with red chillies.
Ensure that the ridge gourd is properly washed before peeling. Run your fingers through the ridges and scrub while washing.