Ridge Gourd Curry Recipe | Ridge Gourd Recipe

Vegan Ridge Gourd Curry

A simple and delectable dish, made using ridge gourd.

Whole Food Plant Based Ridge Gourd Curry

Course: Course 2 (Vegetable Dish) for Lunch & Dinner Meals
Cuisine: Satwik Tamil Recipe from South India
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4 People

INGREDIENTS

2 medium Ridge Gourds OR 1 large Ridge Gourd
1 Green Chili
4 tsp Miso Paste (Healthy Salt Alternative. See Nutrition Science Highlights below)
4 tsp Almonds
1 pinch Asafoetida (Perunkaayam / Hing)
2 tbsp Coriander chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Wash the vegetables well.
2. Lightly scrape the ridges of the ridge gourd so as to remove the sharp edges and the fibre that runs through them. Reserve the scraped edges for making Ridge Gourd Chutney.
3. Chop ridge gourd once lengthwise. Chop again to make 4 long pieces. Then cut into smaller pieces, about 1.5 cm in width.
4. Slit green chili on one side along its length.
5. Put the chopped ridge gourd and green chili in a vessel with 2 cups of water to boil. The water should be just below the level of the vegetables. Cover with a lid and simmer until cooked.
6. Once cooked, remove from stove.
7. Chop coriander and almonds into small pieces.
   
8. Add miso paste, hing / asafoetida, chopped almonds, and chopped coriander. Serve fresh!

Nutrition Science Highlights for WFPB Ridge Gourd Curry

1. Why Miso Paste? Miso paste is fermented & salted soya bean paste. American Heart Association Maximum recommended maximum daily salt intake of 3.75 grams per person to minimise risk of high blood pressure, stomach cancer and chronic kidney disease. In addition to helping us restrict salt intake, replacing salt with miso paste also helps by neutralising the negative effects of salt by soya phytonutrients. You can easily make fresh miso paste at home by mixing 100 grams of cooked soya paste with 10 grams of salt, or 10 tablespoons of cooked soya paste with 1 tablespoon of salt. If making at home, ensure to use immediately, or freeze in batches to use later. Or, simply use 3.75 grams of salt or less per day per person and add 18 to 20 grams (dry weight) of soya beans in any dishes, spread through the day!
2. Why not tadka? Tadka, thaaLippu, oggaraNe. Tempering spices in oil is quintessential to Indian cuisine. This practice may have started as a compromise when whole nuts were unavailable, and indeed, is more common in inland, drier areas where nuts do not grow easily, all year round. You can enjoy the taste and fragrance, though, by just dry roasting the spices you require, without the oil, or even better, mixing spice powders directly into your dish!
3. Why nuts instead of oil? Whole foods are healthier than processed foods. When nuts are pressed and oil is extracted, fiber and phytonutrients are lost, along with many other nutrients. Therefore, whole nuts are much healthier than oils, whether cold-pressed or refined. In addition, they provide the oil content we need to absorb fat-soluble phytonutrients from other whole plant foods! This may be why nuts are used to garnish nearly every traditional Indian dish!