Ridge Gourd Onion Chutney

Ridge gourd onion chutney spiced with pepper and tamarind. Add a spark to a simple Indian meal with this chutney on the side.

You Need:

• Ridge gourd – 1
• Onions – 2
• Black peppercorns – 20
• Tamarind – coin-sized piece
• Salt – to taste
• Cumin seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
• Oil – 2 teaspoons

In the picture above: Ridge gourd, onions, tamarind, cumin seeds, black peppercorns.

How To Make Ridge Gourd Onion Chutney:

Peel the ridge gourd. Slice horizontally into 1 cm disks, then cut each disk into 1-cm sized pieces.

Peel the onions. Halve the onions from head to root, discard the edges, and chop the onions into 1-cm cubes.

Soak a coin-sized piece of tamarind in a tablespoon of water for 15 minutes. Extract the pulp and discard the seeds.

Heat the oil in a kadhai or skillet. Add cumin seeds and let them splutter for a few seconds. Then add chopped onions and pepper.

Saute on high heat till the onions are golden.

It helps to use a metal kadhai (aluminium or cast iron, in place of a non-stick pan) for cooking this chutney, as the brown of the onions that sticks to the kadhai gives the chutney a great flavor. A little charring is good.

Add the chopped ridge gourd.

Continue to cook on high heat, stirring at regular intervals, till the ridge gourd is soft (about 10 minutes).

Take the pan off the heat and let it cool down for 15 minutes.

Transfer the cooked onion-ridge gourd to a blender, along with soaked tamarind and salt to taste.

Blend coarsely. [This is how I do it in my blender: pulse for 5 seconds, give the insides a stir and pulse again for 5 seconds.]

Transfer the ground ridge gourd and onion back to the pan in which it was cooked.  Stir around and cook for another 5 minutes on high heat, till evenly browned.

Serve ridge gourd onion chutney on the side with any Indian meal.

Notes:

Check out other vegetable chutney recipes…

…and more ways to use the ridge gourd in your meals: