Cuisine: Andhra Pradesh state of India
Ingredients:
Sponge gourd – 4 medium
Green chilli – 6
Oil – 1 tablespoon
Tamarind – marble-sized
Garlic cloves – 10
Coriander leaves – 1 tablespoon
Salt – as required
Method:
Chop the green chillies into slits. In a kadai/pan, heat oil and fry the green chillies until they start to turn slightly brown. In a bowl, soak the tamarind in a little water for 15 minutes and extract the thick juice from it. Then, roast the whole sponge gourds on direct fire (you can roast them on a gas stove flame also, but if you roast them on a wood fire the chutney will be tastier). Just keep the sponge gourd on the fire and keep turning it once every 2 minutes until it turns completely black. Then keep all the roasted sponge gourds on a plate and let them cool completely. Then, peel off the black layer with your hands. Keep a big bowl under while peeling because the water content of the sponge gourd will be falling out. You must collect all that water. Keep a bowl of water near so that you can wash out all the black particles from your hand while peeling. After you have finished peeling all the sponge gourds, squeeze them so that the seeds and the water content come out. Collect the seeds and the water into the bowl in which you have already collected its water while peeling. In a mortar, grind the fried green chillies and garlic cloves into a coarse paste. Then, add the squeezed sponge gourds and grind them into a paste. Add this ground mixture to the bowl of sponge gourd seeds and water. Add tamarind juice, salt and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well until everything combines well. Serve along with rice.
Note:
For this recipe, the sponge gourds should not be too tender.
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