Ridge Gourd with Shrimp - Peerkangai eraal poriyal

These months of being cooped up in the house, some of us ought to have realized how fortunate we are. Those of us who have the ability to work from home have actually in my opinion have a better quality of life. All the commuting and sitting in traffic has stopped and we find ourselves with extra time. How to best make use of the time? There are a lot of people who don't have the luxury of a paycheck struggling to meet their daily needs. I have heard friends and folks complain about not being able to take vacations and do thing that they normally take for granted. I guess a little perspective is required. I am in no way diminishing the mental stress and pressure this has put on everybody.

There are things that people can do to help other in need, which while providing relief from everyday stress can actually be good for the soul. Contact your local food pantry and see if they need help. Contact your local farmer and see if you can volunteer. Join an exercise group and start to get fit(virtually of course). Our farm has hosted a lot of volunteers this season and I have heard from them that the experience has been satisfying and the bonus of getting fresh air and being around green things. In turn it has reduced a lot of burden on the farm as well. It has been a mutually rewarding experience.

Moving on to the recipe, Ridge Gourd, was not something I looked forward to enjoyed very much growing up. Once I started growing them I have realized how versatile they really are. With their natural sweetness, just quickly sauteing them is sufficient. My friend who uses fried fish, shrimp or small fish to most of her vegetables told me that her grandma always cooked ridge gourd with some shrimp. Srilankan style. Thought I have know for a while, I tried it only this year and boy am I glad. Shrimp and Ridge Gourd are a match made in heaven.

If you have some tiny shrimp good else just chop up the regular shrimp into smaller pieces. Not a very hard recipe at all. Just a few simple everyday ingredients. I wouldn't add too many spices to it as it will overwhelm the inherent sweetness of the ridge gourd and shrimp.

Here's the recipe in pictures,

Prepare the shrimp, cut into small pieces and set aside.
Saute the onions and ridge gourd with seasonings and green chilies and and add the shrimp.
Saute till the moisture evaporates and desired consistency is reached.

Ridge Gourd with Shrimp
Preparation Time:10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients

1. 2-3 medium sized young ridge gourd, ridges scrapped and cut into small cubes. About 4 cups of ridge gourd.
2. 1/2 cup chopped red onions
3. 3-4 slit green or red chilies
4. 1 tsp sambhar powder or curry masala powder
5. 1 cup of chopped shrimp (about 8-10 medium sized shrimp)
6. 2 tsp of oil
7. seasongings: mustard seeds, cumin seeds
8. salt to taste

Method

1. Heat a flat bottomed saute pan, add oil, when hot add mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
2. Add in onion and green chilies and saute till the onions become translucent.
3. Add chopped ridge gourd and cook till the ridge gourd is soft (about 6-8 minutes)
4. Add the sambhar powder and mix it in.
5. Add salt and the shrimp and cook for another 3-4 minutes till the shrimp turns pink. Turn off the heat. Do not overcook.

Goes well with rice or as a side dish. Like what you are reading? Subscribe!