Ridge gourd chutney

Simple and flavorful, this chutney is a perfect accompaniment to idlis, Dosa and steamed rice.

This is an unmodified recipe straight from my mum's kitchen. She makes the best Heerekai/Ridge gourd chutney and she usually serves it with hot steamed rice. For cold rainy day, what can be better than a plate of hot rice, Ridge gourd chutney and a dollop of ghee? She makes it spicy and aromatic. Every time I make this chutney, the aroma gives me nostalgic feeling, makes me miss my mum a lot.

There are numerous health benefits of Ridge gourd and I want to list a few.

Purifies Blood: Including Ridge gourd in your regular meals helps purify blood and cleanse the body out of toxins. It also boosts liver health and helps decrease the bad effects of alcohol consumption. Since it has properties of cleansing and purifying blood, it is also good for skin and prevents the skin from pimples and acne.

Reduces sugar levels: The insulin present in Ridge gourd (like Peptides and Alkaloids) helps reduce the blood sugar levels in our body. It also restricts the increase of blood insulin level and hence is good for diabetics.

Good for Eye sight: Ridge gourd contains Beta-carotene which is good for enhancing eye sight.

Antibiotic properties: Ridge gourd has anti-inflammatory and anti-biotic properties making it a part of home treatment for many skin and other body ailments.

Aids in weight loss: Ridge gourd is extremely low in saturated fats and helps reduce the concentration of cholesterol in the body. It offers high amount of vitamins and minerals. So it is a best choice if you are on a weight loss regime.

Yet another vegetable with countless health benefits but I will have to stop with only few. This Ridge gourd chutney recipe is easy and simple, yet very tasty. Please feel free to modify the recipe as per your taste.

Nutritional Information  (Approx) (per serving)
Energy	60		Calories
Fat	2		%
Carbohydrates	8		%
Dietary Fiber	1		%
Sodium	0.83		%
Vitamin A	7		%
Vitamin C	94		%
Calcium	1		%
Iron	4		%
Protein	1		Grams
Sugar	1		Grams

Ingredients
Ridge gourd/Heerekai	1 (big)
Cumin seeds/Jeera	2 heaping teaspoons
Red chillies	2 or 3
Water	2 cups
Salt	to taste
Tamarind/Tamarind paste	1 teaspoon

Coconut/copra                          2 tablespoons

To Temper
Coconut oil	2 teaspoons
Mustard seeds	teaspoons
Red chillies	2

* Boil water in a pot and add chopped Ridge gourd, Cumin seeds and Green chillies.
* Cook till the water is completely evaporated and ridge gourd is cooked completely.

* Grind the cooked mixture with coconut, tamarind and salt to a fine paste. Add water while grinding.
* Transfer the ground paste to a pot and bring it to boil. Remove from heat.
* Temper with hot oil, mustard seeds and red chillies. Serve hot with rice, rotis, dosa or Idlis.

Brown lentil and Dalia BisiBeleBath

BisibeleBath is one of the most popular rice dishes in Karnataka. It is aromatic, warm and tasty one-pot meal loved by all age groups.

It has been a while since I started to pick on things to cook for Naveen trying not to put on anymore weight. When it comes to native dishes like Pulao, Bisibelebath, Puliogare, etc,.. it is hard to resist. He loves Rice dishes a lot and so do I. Yesterday, he came home saying he has a craving for a plate of piping hot Bisibelebath. I knew just what to do, so I replaced Toor Dal with brown lentils and white rice with Dalia (Broken wheat). Guess what? Bisibelebath was super yummy and satisfied the husband eminently.

It does not feel even a bit different from the normal bisibelebath and is a step more healthier with Dalia, Brown lentils and all the veggies added to it.

Nutritional Information  (Approx) (per serving)
Energy	199		Calories
Fat	7		%
Carbohydrates	11		%
Dietary Fiber	40		%
Sodium	38		%
Vitamin A	85		%
Vitamin C	58		%
Calcium	8		%
Iron	24		%
Protein	8.2		Grams
Sugar	6.9		Grams

Ingredients
Mixed Vegetables	2 cups
Dalia/Broken wheat/Cracked wheat	1/2 cup
Brown lentil	3/4 cup
Turmeric powder	1/2 teaspoon
Water	4 cups

For Bisibelebath powder
Split peas/Chana dal	1 teaspoon
Toor Dal	1 teaspoon
Urad Dal	1/2 teaspoon
Cloves	2
Cinammon	a small stick
Elaichi	1
Fenugreek seeds	1/2 teaspoon
Dhaniya/coriander seeds/Dhaniya powder	1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds/Jeera	1 teaspoon
Hing	a pinch
Dry coconut/copra	1/2 cup
Red chillies	6 or 8

To temper
Coconut oil	2 teaspoons
Mustard seeds	1 teaspoon
Hing	a pinch
red chillies	2

* Cook all the Veggies in a pot of water till they are half cooked.
* Wash and soak Dalia and Brown lentil for 30 minutes. Add turmeric powder, water and cook till the lentils are soft and mushy. It is easy to pressure cook the lentils and Dalia since it takes quite a while to cook otherwise.

* Fry all the ingredients under "For Bisibelebath powder" one by one in the order listed. Let them cool.
* Grind them to a fine powder without adding water.
* Transfer the powder to a bowl, add little water and mix well to make it a paste. This step will help the powder get mixed without any lumps.

* Mix cooked vegetables, lentil, dalia, masala, tamarind paste and salt. Bring it to boil.
* Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and wait for it to splutter. Add hing and red chillies. Once the aroma starts to develop, add it to Bisibelebath.
* Remove Bisibelebath from heat, serve hot with raita and papads.

* You can fry chopped onion and peanuts with red chillies for extra flavor.

* Bisibelebath tastes best when topped with clarified butter/Ghee. 

* You can replace brown lentil with dal if you like.