Snake gourd (Potlakaya Koora) with Toor dal

My neighbors have a huge vegetable garden. They are kind enough to share their home grown organic veggies with us. This snake gourd was picked right from her garden and I cooked it with in a hour.  

Snake gourd is cooked with tomatoes, green chille and onions. Cooked toor dal (kandi pappu) is added to give some body and gravy to this simple curry. The main focus is on the snake gourd. A fresh tender gourd works great for this recipe. Adding tomatoes which are juicy and ripen makes a huge difference in how this curry tastes.

Recipe: Ingredients:

• Snake gourd ( potlakaya in telugu)- 2 cups (cut to small pieces)
• Medium onion- 1
• Tomato- 2
• Toor dal (Kandi pappu) – ¼th cup
• Green chille- 3
• Ginger- ¼th inch ( cut to small pieces)
• Coriander powder -1 tsp
• Lemon juice and Salt to taste
• Coriander leaves for garnish
• Oil – 3 tsps
• Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
• Chana dal – 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
• Asafoetida – a pinch

Procedure:

Cook the toor dal in some water till soft but not mushy.

Now take a skillet and add the oil. Do the tempering by adding mustard seeds, chana dal and cumin seeds. Now add a pinch hing (asafatedia), green chili and ginger. Fry for few seconds. Now add the onion, a bit of turmeric powder and some salt. Cook for five  minutes and now add the Snake gourd. Mix and cover the lid.

Cook for five minutes, so the gourd gets coated with the spies. Now add some water and cook till the gourd becomes soft. Now add the chopped tomato, coriander powder and cook till mushy.

Now dd the cooked toor dal with the water. Mix and check the seasoning. If you need to add more water go ahead and add it at this point.

Let it simmer for another ten minutes or till desired consistency. Once done add lemon juice and freshly chopped coriander leaves

Serve with hot rice!