Heat a pan and add a teaspoon of oil. Add the cumin seeds, urad dal, coriander seeds and dry red chili. I ran out of coriander seeds, so added coriander powder in the end. Saute till light brown and then add curry leaves and garlic cloves. Saute for a minute and turn off the stove.
Cool the above ingredients and make powder , preferably smooth powder.
In the same pan add another tea spoon of oil and add the chopped ridge gourd and turmeric and cook till soft. You may want to splash some water while cooking to avoid burning. Add a small piece of tamarind to the cooked ridge gourd to help it soften.
Add the cooled ridge gourd peel to the ground mixture, add some salt, little jaggery and 1 to 2 tbsps of water and grind to a coarse or a smooth mixture,depending on your preference. I kept the pachadi slightly coarse.
In the same pan do the tempering/tadka by adding a tea spoon of oil. Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and let them pop. Now add the cumin seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida. Saute for 30 seconds and add the tadka to the pachadi. Mix it well and check for the seasoning by adding salt, sugar or lemon juice.