A healthy and easy ridge gourd kootu recipe prepared without any coconut or chilies. Check out my pathiya peerkangai kootu recipe with detailed step-wise pictures.
Like kuzhambu, there is no exact English word for kootu. You can call it curry or stew or gravy. :-)
The vegetable ridge gourd is quite popular in Indian cuisine, especially in South India. It is known as turai in Hindi. This kootu is more like turai dal but without any onion or garlic.
I have explained the meaning for the word kootu on my cabbage kootu post. It means – “combine” or “mix” or “add” or “adding.” Based on the context, it can mean combine or add.
Today’s kootu is something different. This ridge gourd kootu is a pathiya kootu – a mild curry without any coconut or green chilies but with the goodness of ridge gourd and cumin and pepper.
I prepared the tempering with ghee, but you can use oil to make it vegan and skip asafoetida to make it gluten-free. Just look at the calorie of this kootu. If you are following a low-carb diet, then this kootu would be your best bet.
Pathiya Samayal:
Pathiya Samayal is a well-balanced diet that we follow in our family, and we firmly believe that it helps in better digestion for lactating moms, which prevents colic in babies. This ridge gourd kootu is among the pathiya samayal foods, and I still remember relishing it during my postpartum time. We love it so much that it has become regular fare in our household.
I have discussed the postpartum diet or the postpartum pathiya samayal on my blog already. But there are different varieties of pathiya samayal. For example, if you are recovering from jaundice or any fever, then a different set of food varieties are recommended.
Basically, “pathiyam,” the Tamil word means restricted. And samayal means cooking. Pathiyal samayal is a restricted but well-balanced diet that helps you to recover fast from the ailments.
For patients recovering from jaundice, they usually give more moong dal and tomatoes, but the salt intake will be way too low. For lactating moms, they avoid food that induces body heat and also provide food that increases the milk supply. Moreover, these practices and the diet followed differs from family to family.
Pathiya Kootu-
As a general rule, in pathiya samayal, they don’t use red or green chilies but use black or white pepper a lot. Chilies induce body heat, and we all know it is spicy. So when our body is healing, it is better not to consume chilies.
And for this kootu, we use black pepper for the spicy flavor. But trust me folks, just a tsp of black pepper and cumin provide all the flavor you want. Mix this kootu with hot rice with a dollop of ghee, and I can assure you that you will be food heaven. :-)
For the first 48 days after pregnancy, the dal consumption is less to prevent gas problems. If you notice, we use only 2 tbsps of moong dal ie, a minimal amount of dal for this kootu. Also, no coconut while preparing the kootu masala. It’s a very simple kootu with minimum spices and ingredients.
Ridge gourd alternatives-
If you are not preparing this kootu for a lactating mom, you can use other veggies like ashgourd, chayote squash, spinach, cabbage pumpkin, etc.
But if you are giving this to a lactating mom, especially during the first 48 days, make this kootu either with ridgegourd or bottle gourd or snake gourd.
Kootu Podi | Spice powder for this recipe-
For this kootu, we don’t even roast the ingredients. We direct grind it and add it to the kootu. But you can prepare the spice mix well ahead and store it. And when needed, you can use 1 to 1.5 tbsps of the spice powder or according to your taste preference.
Other kootu recipes from my archives-
- Vegan ashgourd kootu with coconut milk
- Instant Pot cabbage kootu
- Chow chow kootu without coconut
- Brussels Sprouts masala kootu
- Cucumber kootu
As always, I have written enough. Let me now get into the recipe.
How to make Ridge Gourd Curry | Peerkangai Kootu –
Peel & chop the ridge gourd-
Using a peeler, peel the ridge gourd skin. If the skin is tender, you can use it for making chutney. If not, discard it. Then chop the inside part into small cubes. If the seeds are big and hard, discard them, but if it’s small and tender, don’t worry about them.
I usually peel and chop the vegetable as a part of meal prep during the weekend. Peeled and chopped veggie stays good for about four days when refrigerated.
VVK Tip –
Like cucumber, some ridge gourd tastes bitter. Taste a small piece for bitterness while chopping. If the ridge gourd is bitter, then you can’t use it for kootu. Sadly you have to discard them. It’s hard to find bitter ridge gourd while purchasing. 90% of the time, they are good, but it’s better to taste them once before preparing the kootu.
Pressure cook the ridge gourd and the dal –
- I went with a stove-top pressure cooker for this recipe. I usually don’t cook the veggies directly in the pressure cooker and always use a pot inside.
- In a vessel in which you are going to make the kootu and the one that can fit inside the pressure cooker, add the moong dal first. Then add ½ cup water.
- Now add the chopped ridge gourd on top and then the salt and turmeric powder—no need to mix.
- Add about 1 cup of water to the pressure cooker and place this vessel with ridge gourd and pressure cook for three whistles. Let the pressure subside.
Instant Pot Method-
- If you are using Instant Pot, add the dal directly to the inner pot, followed by ridge gourd, salt, and turmeric. Pressure cook this for 8 minutes at high-pressure manual mode and release the pressure naturally.
As the ridge gourd oozes out water, we don’t need to add extra water, both for stove-top and electric pressure cooker.
Grind the podi-
- While the ridge gourd is cooking, you can prepare the podi. All you need to do is grind the roasted gram/pottukadalai, cumin seeds, and black peppers.
- You can grind it coarsely or smoothly according to your preference.
Prepare the kootu-
- Now add this kootu podi to the cooked ridge gourd.
- And simmer it for 5 to 7 minutes. Make sure the kootu podi is well-mixed, and there aren’t any lumps.
- When it comes to a boil, turn off the heat.
Prepare the tempering-
- In a pan, heat the oil/ghee. When it is hot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and hing. When the mustard seeds splutter, add some curry leaves and turn off the heat. Add this tempering to the kootu and mix.
- That’s it. Kootu is ready. Garnish it with cilantro, and you can serve it hot with rice. It pairs well with roti as well.
Recipe Notes-
- Instead of ridge gourd, you can use bottle gourd, cucumber, ash gourd, chayote squash for making this kootu. But the cooking time, especially in IP, might vary.
- Adjust the salt and pepper according to taste.
- Skip asafoetida to make the gravy gluten-free and use oil instead of ghee to make it vegan.
- Roasted gram helps to thicken the kootu. If you don’t have roasted gram, you can use ½ tsp of chickpeas flour/besan instead.
- Skip curry leaves if you don’t have. I did not use any cilantro. But you can use cilantro as well.
PS: Follow me on Instagram or join my Facebook Group for more gardening and recipe updates. If you try this ridge gourd curry, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe. If you have any questions, please leave a comment, and I will get to it asap. Make sure to follow me on my Pinterest for more healthy and delicious ideas!
📖 Recipe
Peerkangai Kootu Recipe | Ridge Gourd Curry
Equipment
- Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker
- MmixerJar or Blender
- Inner Pot or stainless steel vessel that can fit the pressure cooker
Ingredients
Measurement Details- 1 cup=240ml; 1 tbsp=15ml; 1tsp=5ml;
To Pressure Cook-
- 2 tbsp moong dal
- ½ cup water
- 3.5 cups ridge gourd peeled and chopped
- ⅛ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp salt
To Grind-
- 2 tsp roasted gram pottukadalai (refer notes for alternative)
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp whole black pepper
To Temper-
- 2 tsp ghee or oil
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ¼ tsp asafoetida
- 5 curry leaves
- 2 tsp cilantro chopped to garnish
Instructions
- Using a peeler, peel the ridge gourd skin. If the skin is tender, you can use it for making chutney. If not, discard it. The chop the inside part into small cubes. If the seeds are big and hard, discard them, but if it's small and tender, don't worry about them.
- I usually peel and chop the vegetable as a part of meal prep during the weekend. Peeled and chopped veggie stays good for about four days when refrigerated.
- VVK Tip - Like cucumber, some ridge gourd tastes bitter. Taste a small piece for bitterness while chopping. If the ridge gourd is bitter, then you can't use it for kootu. Sadly you have to discard them. It's hard to find bitter ridge gourd while purchasing. 90% of the time, they are good, but it's better to taste them once before preparing the kootu.
- I went with a stove-top pressure cooker for this recipe. I usually don't cook the veggies directly in the pressure cooker and always use a pot inside.
- In a vessel in which you are going to make the kootu and the one that can fit inside the pressure cooker, add the moong dal first. Then add ½ cup water. Now add the chopped ridge gourd on top and then the salt and turmeric powder—no need to mix.
- Add about 1 cup of water to the pressure cooker and place this vessel with ridge gourd and pressure cook for three whistles. Let the pressure subside.
- Instant Pot Method- If you are using Instant Pot, add the dal directly to the inner pot, followed by ridge gourd, salt, and turmeric. Pressure cook this for 8 minutes at high-pressure manual mode and release the pressure naturally.
- As the ridge gourd oozes out water, we don't need to add extra water, both for stove-top and electric pressure cooker.
- While the ridge gourd is cooking, you can prepare the podi. All you need to do is grind the roasted gram/pottukadalai, cumin seeds, and black peppers. You can grind it coarsely or smoothly according to your preference.
- Now add this kootu podi to the cooked ridge gourd and simmer it for 5 to 7 minutes. Make sure the kootu podi is well-mixed, and there aren't any lumps.
- When it comes to a boil, turn off the heat.
- In a pan, heat the oil/ghee. When it is hot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and hing. When the mustard seeds splutter, add some curry leaves and turn off the heat. Add this tempering to the kootu and mix.
- That's it. Kootu is ready. Garnish it with cilantro, and you can serve it hot with rice. It pairs well with roti as well.
Notes
- Instead of ridge gourd, you can use bottle gourd, cucumber, ash gourd, chayote squash for making this kootu. But the cooking time, especially in IP, might vary.
- Adjust the salt and pepper according to taste.
- Skip asafoetida to make the gravy gluten-free and use oil instead of ghee to make it vegan.
- Roasted gram helps to thicken the kootu. If you don't have roasted gram, you can use ½ tsp of chickpeas flour/besan instead.
- Skip curry leaves if you don't have. I did not use any cilantro. But you can use cilantro as well.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
While doing in Instant pot no need to add water ??? And half cup is 120 ml ?? Usually 1 cup is 240 ml
Half cup, 120ml is fine. Ridgegourd will ooze out water so it should be good.
Vindhya dear you truly inspire me … I love all your recipes and videos of the same…keep up the awesome job that you do of it… you make it seem effortless…
Yup today you reminded me of how my mom used to use Sabina powder and vim liquid back home when you mentioned how you just use the washing powder and liquid together..
❤ Swetha
Thank you so much.