Heerekai ( Ridgegourd )chatney

Heerekai ( Ridge gourd)

Heerekai chatney

Ingredients

 Heerekai or ridge gourd               1 Kg
 Grated coconut scraping              3 Table spoons
 Byadagi red chilli                         6 numbers
 Tamarind                                     Size of a small lemon
 Salt                                              to taste
 Mustard seeds                             ½ tea spoon full
 Black gram dhal                           2 table spoons
 Asafoetida                                    I pinch
 Cooking oil                                  2 table spoon full

 Method

 Wash and scrape ridge gourds lightly. Dice them in to small pieces.
 Soak tamarind in hot water.

 Fry red chillies in tea spoon full of oil in a flat frying pan. Add coconut scrapings and fry for a few minutes.       Transfer this in to another plate

 In the same frying pan fry ridge gourd pieces adding one I table spoon of oil. Add ½ tsp. of salt .Juice from    the vegetable comes out .Fry till all the juice dries and the ridge gourd pieces become light brown in colour. Allow it to cool.

 Extract the pulp from the soaked tamarind.

 Transfer fried ridge gourd pieces, fried chillies and coconut scrapings in to a maxi jar. Add tamarind paste and salt and grind it to a smooth paste without adding water.

 Prepare the tempering by heating the oil and adding the mustard seeds,black gram dhal asafoetida and curry leaves and stirring till the mustard seeds crackle and dhal becomes medium brown. Pour this tempering over the chutney. Mix it just before serving. It feels good to eat crunchy balckgram dhal along with smooth chatney.