About:

Have you tried blending bottle gourd in north indian gravies?-Here in this gravy bell peppers and peas are cooked in ridge gourd gravy. Usually north indian gravies are blend of tomato-onion, cashew , ginger -garlic with whole garam masala but here I have used ridge gourd along with onion and tomato and replaced cashew with almonds.

This gravy is lightly spiced with no any added oil however the spices can be personalised as per the taste.

Health benefits:

As with other types of gourds, the ridge gourd is low in fat and calories, making it a good choice for including in a well-balaned diet for weight loss. Ridge gourd is low in saturated fat and cholesterol, high in dietary fibre and vitamin C. It has blood-purifying properties. It has high beta crotene that is good for eyes. It is used in skin care treatment against eczema and psoriasis

Yields-3-4 servings
Preparation time-15-20 minutes
Cooking time-25 minutes

Ingredients:

• Chopped Ridge gourd – 2cups
• Chopped onion-1medium
• Chopped Tomato-1medium
• Diced Bell peppers-1
• Frozen peas-1/2cup-3/4cup
• Chopped Green chillies-3
• Garlic cloves-2
• Almonds- 10-12
• Ginger-1/2inch
• Clove-3
• Cinnamon-1inch stick
• Fennel seeds-1tsp
• Salt – to taste

Procedure:

• Chopped Ridge gourd, onion, chillies, ginger-garlic into small sections for steaming.
• Place into a large pot for steaming with an inch or two of water (with a steamer tray inserted).
• Cover and steam until vegetables are tender about 10-12minutes.
• Then add in fennel seeds, clove, cinnamon, chopped tomatoes and continue to steam for another 2-3minutes.
• Then turn off the flame and allow it to come to the room temperature.
• Meanwhile before blending the veggies place almonds in the food processor and ground to fine powder then add steamed veggies and whizz until smooth.
• Transfer the ground puree into a large sauce pan and cook on a medium high flame for 3-4minutes.
• Then add in diced capsicum/bell peppers, peas and continue to cook until they are tender and soft.
• Add salt and adjust the consistency as per desired thickness and simmer for 5-7minutes
• Garnish with coriander and serve with roti/pulka/rice.

Note:

• Oil can be included if desired and tempering can be done.
• Potato/any other veggies of choice can be included for variation.