One of the few vegetables which falls under the category of ‘Zero-waste‘, Bottle gourd comes with lot of health benefits. Be it the vegetable itself or its peel. It is so versatile that it tastes heavenly in whatever form you use in, with whatever you cook it with! Be it a simple yogurt based traditional South Canara delicacies – Pulikajipu / Majjigehuli or tamarind based coconut gravy – Kodyel / Sambar or spiced up breakfast accompaniment – Chutney or dunk in a spicy gravy – Lauki Kofta or dipped in dal – Lauki Dal or the evergreen Lauki ka Halwa! or soaked with jaggery and coconut milk – Payasa ! Or as is, without much additional spices or taste enhancers , in the form of Curry / Palya (As in postpartum meal plan special BottleGourdPeel Curry)!
It brings in a divine taste to the dish, that it is a part of! In the coming days I shall come up with more of it. Today, we shall look into how the the peel of this nutrients rich humble vegetable is put to use in preparing chutney, without coconut (Thus part of the postpartum Recovery Meal Plan). In the coming days, I shall come up with the recipe for the Bottle Gourd Peel Chutney, with Coconut and regular spices!
For now, lets get into the recipe!
Some other interesting recipes for you :
Did you know, peels of various fruits and vegetables that we consume, are energy houses too and can be consumed? this, is an interesting recipe. You would also love this .
This post might be of interest for you!
Ingredients:
Bottle Gourd Peel : Peel of a medium sized Bottle gourd
Salt: as per taste
Jaggery: Small lemon size
Tamarind: 0.5 tsp.
Pepper Powder: 0.5 tsp.
Tempering:
Ghee : 1 tbsp.
Garlic: 5 pods
Mustard seeds: 0.5 tsp.
Heeng: Little
Jeera/Cumin Seeds: 0.5 tsp.
Method:
- In a small pot, add the ridge gourd peel, tamarind powder, jaggery, salt and little water and cook
- Once cool, grind it with a little pepper powder to a smooth paste
- Prepare the tempering (with the ingredients mentioned under ‘Tempering’ section)and add it to the above
Bottle Gourd Peel Chutney (without coconut) Stories:
Our daughter is a huge fan of Majjigehuli! When I plan for the weekly menu, I ask for voting for the the dishes for the week! If I leave it to my daughter, she would fill the entire week with Rasam and Majjigehuli!!! According to her , Sorekai is synonymous with Majjigehuli! When asked, shall we prepare something else with it, she is quick to reply, saying – you anyhow have its peel, to cook your favorite!!! And thus, we have the peel left to prepare chutney, which easily goes with our breakfast the next day – Dose/ Idli! Its one of the most common chutney that we prepare at home and of course, we love it too! During the post partum recovery days, this versatile vegetable quickly found its place in curry or dal, leaving the peel for chutney, but , without coconut! That’s when we realized the unique capability of the vegetable to bring in the taste, even without the usual coconut or spices. Now, when we are out of stock of coconut, we , without a second thought, proceed with this recipe for the chutney, to go as an accompaniment with Dose or Idli!
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