Simple Lunches - 13 Snake Gourd Kootu

Yellow for Bri

Picture Courtesy: Cherry Blossoms

I feel a sense of hope as I see the scale in Chip-In moving towards the right. I am extremely proud of the blogging community that has made this possible and ofcourse all the generous donors bloggers and non bloggers. Bri Good Luck and Best Wishes. Please visit Jugalbandi for the info and opportunity to participate in the June Click - Special Edition.

I am all for simplicity these days. In my simple world 1=1 but the Democratic primary has my head spinning where 1 is not equal to one, it is more like one equals 2, 1 1/2, 1/2 and so forth. A simple voter is not expected to know these nuances right? But no doubt it voters fired up involved in the process. The Millenlial generation is expected to play a big role in the elections this year, unlike the apathetic Gen Xers who gave up hope in the whole thing. This is a history making election, no matter how you look at it. The hope express has come far and the straight talking express has taken shortcuts and twists and turns.

Simple is all I wanted after all this complication.

Snake Gourd Kootu
1. 2 Snake Medium sized Gourds the outside skin scraped and cut into small pieces
2. 3/4 Cup Moong Dal pressure cooked with a bit of oil and turmeric powder
3. 1/4 Red onion chopped
4. 2 Red chilies - split
5. Seasonings: mustard,cumin and curry leaves
6. Oil
7. Salt to taste

For the Paste
1. 2 Red Chilies
2. 3 Green chilies
3. 1 1/2 tsp urad dal
4. 1 tsp coriander seeds
5. 1/2 tsp cumin
6. 1/4 tsp asfoetida
6. a few roasted chana dal (to aid in the blending process)
Make a paste with a bit of water

Method
1. In a pan heat some oil and season with mustard, cumin and curry leaves followed by the split red chilies
2. Saute the onions till translucent
3. Add the chopped snake gourd and saute till the raw smell goes
4. Add the paste and a cup of water and let the snake gourd cook completely.
5. Add cooked moong dal and salt. Mix, bring it to a boil and turn off the heat.

Serve with rice and a poriyal or varuval. We had it with chapathis and banana fry (roasted with just sambhar powder and salt. Recipe here for another version.

Other posts in the Simple Lunches series: here