Snake gourd /padwal(Marathi)/Potlakaaya (Telugu) /Padavalanga (Malayalam) / Padavalkkai (Kannada) .
Call it by any name it has a lot of nutritional value and is a powerhouse of nutrients. Snake gourd belongs to the summer squash family, mostly a summer produce ,it is available all round the year in India.
Rich in dietary fiber , vitamins A and C ,snake gourds help in digestion ,prevent bloating and constipation . Helps in detoxification of the body because of its diuretic properties. Due to water content present in the snake gourd it helps maintain body's hydration.
Podalangai Thayir pachadi is a new addition to my kitchen and hence it is making it to the blog .
Amma would make it frequently during summer, but over the years I had totally forgotten about this recipe . As a flash,this recipe occurred to me this morning when I was contemplating what to make with fresh and tender snake gourd that I had just bought. The snake gourds have to be tender. Overly ripe ones taste bitter and become hard and chewy . So while buying, make sure the snake gourd vine is easy to twist and tender to feel. If you find it hard or it easily cracks ,then don't buy that .
Podalangai thayir pachadi is very easy to make and gets done in no time . A tasty paste is made using fresh coconut, ginger,green chillies and curry leaves which is added to thick whipped yogurt and boiled snake gourd is mixed along with this followed by a tempering of mustard, dry red chillies and asafoetida.
Podalangai thayir pachadi is also made during Amavasya, pithrupaksha and Shraadh cooking in a typical Tamil Brahmin household . Vishu and Onam Sadhyas also feature padavalanga kichadi as one of the Sadhya menu items.
Officially, though it is still winter/spring in India , we are already feeling the warmth in my part of the city. There is hardly any chillness felt and the afternoon sun is at its peak .
As always, with summer setting in; buttermilk,lassi,raita and yogurt based curries make a lot of appearance in my kitchen . Yogurt based curries are light on stomach and easy to digest as well .Most importantly it keeps the body cool during harsh summer and it maintains hydration.
Some lipsmacking raitas in South Indian flavor
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Preparation Time - 5 mins
Cooking Time - 8 mins
Serves - 2 to 3
Complexity - easy
Ingredients
1 medium vine snake gourd
1.5 cups thick yogurt
2 tbsp coconut grated
1 green chilli (optional)
2 to 3 dried red chilli
Few curry leaves
Small piece ginger
Salt as needed
1/2 tsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp udad dhal /black gram
Pinch of asafoetida
Note - if you family tradition doesn't use green chilli for shraadh/Amavasya then replace with dry red chillies.
Method
- Wash the snake gourd and slit it vertically . Deseed /remove the seeds and chop it into small cubes.
- Boil half cup water with salt and cook the snake gourd until soft and tender . Drain the water .
- Grind the coconut, green or red chilli ,curry leaves,ginger to a fine paste .
- Beat the curd/yogurt to make it lump free and smooth.
- Mix the ground coconut paste ,whipped curd and boiled snake gourd . Adjust salt if needed.
- Prepare a tempering of mustard seeds , curry leaves ,udad dhall, red chilli,asafoetida and pour it over the raita and mix well.
