Ridge Gourd Vegetable/ Bhaaji (Ghosaale Upkari)

I am delighted to see lot of winter vegetables of different hues and varieties for a change. Of late, lot of winter vegetables are invading the produce scene. I opted to make a dish which I absolutely detested eating as a child - Ghosaale Upkari. In Konkani, Ridge Gourd is called as Ghosaale. I think sometimes going out of the comfort zone and eating vegetables which are good for health works wonders on your palate.

This year, I have decided to eat atleast one vegetable for which I do not have a liking atleast once every week. At the nutrition level, its wholesome because of the beta-carotene in vegetables. At the spiritual level, I think it enables and empowers to be more tolerant and resilient. The vegetables which I absolutely detest are - Beetroot, SnakeGourd, Ridge Gourd etc. Lets see how it goes by.

Upkari, a stir fried form of vegetables of choice is a staple at my home and that of my aunts and uncles. I like the simplicity and the no-jazz associated with it. This recipe is little different for a change. My cousin's mom hails from Shimoga, a small town now famous for Jog falls one of the prettiest water fall I have ever seen. She is a phenomenal cook and even the simplest of the dishes she makes taste out of the world. There is thought, caring and detail which goes into her menu-planning. She shared her secret of adding 2 tablespoon of milk while boiling vegetables to retain the color and crispness. I tried the trick and there was a subtle difference so to say. I also loved the manner in which the Ridge Gourd seeds interspersed with the vegetables to create a nice medley.

Cooking time + Preparation time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
Ridge Gourd (chopped) - 3 cups
Red Chillies - 2
Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Curry leaves - 5-6 leaves
Milk - 2 tablespoon ~ my secret ingredient
Oil - For frying
Grated coconut (fresh or frozen) - 1 tablespoon
Salt - As per taste
Water - for boiling

Method:
Chop Ridge Gourd, remove the ridges or retain them as per wish. I retained them for the nutritional value. Heat 2 teaspoon oil in a saucepan, add mustard seeds and once they begin to pop, add red chillies and curry leaves. Give a gentle stir. Add the chopped Ridge Gourd pieces. Add enough water to dunk 2/3rd of vegetables in water. Bring to a boil, add 2 tablespoon of milk. Stir well and simmer on low flame for 15 minutes till it gets completely cooked. The milk added will offer slight curdled look. But do not bother, the flavour becomes yummy. Garnish with grated coconut and serve warm as a side dish.

Ridge Gourd's Ridge Curry with Coconut (Ghosale Shire Tambuli/ Tambli)

Of late, we are getting fresh and crisp vegetables at our local Indian store. Seeing the fresh vegetables certainly brings a glint to my eyes as opposed to the drab dull ones which I see always. I love fresh vegetables and experimenting with them rather than sticking to conventional recipes of Upkaris (stir fries in Konkani) or Daals. It also enables me to learn new recipes and try out new dishes.

Ridge Gourd Shire Tambuli is a nice dish made of the Ridge acquired by chopping the ridges of Ridge Gourd. Ridges are the sharp edges which you notice on the outer surface of Ridge Gourd. They are quite sharp and hard to deal with. In Konkani, the ridge is termed as Shire. You can saute the ridges with spices and coconut and that gives rise to a cold soupy broth which goes extremely well with Rice. We term this as Tambuli or Tambli. If you wish to make this dish on some other chosen day, you could chop off the ridges and store them in a zip lock for future use. They easily stay well upto 3-4 days with their natural crispness. This dish can be spicy for some, so if not used to the spice level, you could blend in some yogurt for coooling effect.

In Konkani, Ridge Gourd is called Ghosale. Hence, Ghosale Shire Tambuli. Some also address it as Tambli.

Tambuli style of preparation is something which is cherished by many a folks in my household. It is a cold soupy version amongst Konkani cuisine, however unlike a soup, you cannot slurp it just like that. Owing to heavy coconut content, its advisable to team it up with loads of rice.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
Ridge Gourd - Ridge - 1 cup
Grated coconut (fresh or frozen) - 1/2 cup
Green Chillies - 2
Pepper corn (whole) - 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Tamarind - 1" piece
Salt - as per taste
Oil - for frying

Method:

Chop off the ridges off the ridge gourd. Heat oil in a saute pan, and add pepper (whole) and cumin seeds. Once they begin to pop add the ridge pieces and saute till they wilt and are almost fried. Add Green Chillies and fry till the chillies adopt a charred and grilled look. Add grated coconut and saute for just a minute and turn off the flame. Allow to cool.

Once cooled, grind to a gravy which is not too thick so add water just enough for blending purpose. Serve cold with hot rice. If you find the dish spicy, blend in some yogurt for a more subtle and sobre flavour.

Notes: If you prefer the curry concentrated with Ridge flavour, then add more ridges. If you are making larger quantities of this curry, you could use a different procedure. After adding all ingredients, add little water and bring them to boil. Once cooked, turn off flame and grind with coconut. This helps to retain the shelf life of this curry for a longer duration. The frozen coconut I used was sweet, hence it overpowered the taste of the curry. Use your discretion while adding frozen coconut, if its very sweet use lesser quantity.