Ridge gourd peel chutney (Heerekayi Sippe Chutney)

Some days are day-after-cooking-ridge gourd-day at our home! To be honest, ridge gourd peel excites me more than the ridge gourd itself. Ridge gourd has numerous health benefits like anti inflammatory, prevents eye ailments, reduces arthritis to name a few. And the most nutritious part is the skin. When my husband ate this chutney for the first time, he didn’t believe when I told what the main ingredient was. Jam packed with fibre and nutrition, it tastes amazing. Serve it with breakfast or use it as a spread…

Ingredients:

Peel of ridge gourd – 1 cup, approximately
Fresh coconut – ½ cup
Bengal gram lentil (channa dal) – 3 tbsp
Green chilli – 2 or as per taste
Oil – 1 tbsp
Salt ot taste
Tamarind – a small piece or ½ tsp tamarind paste
Salt to taste

For Tempering:

Oil – 1 tsp
Dry red chili – 1
Curry leaves – 5-6
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Urad dal – ¼ tsp (optional)
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Asafodetida – 1 pinch

Method:

Heat oil in a fry pan. Add Bengal gram dal and fry for a minute. Add ridge gourd peel and fry until the peel becomes tender (about 5-6 minutes)
Add green chilli, coconut, salt and fry for another 2-3 minutes
Cool completely and transfer this to a blender/mixer. Add tamarind. Grind to a smooth paste using some water
To prepare the tempering, heat a small fry pan and add oil
Add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add rest of the ingredients and fry for a few seconds. Turn off the heat
Add the temper to chutney and serve

Notes:

You can soak the tamarind in some water, extract the juice and use this for grinding
You can substitute fresh coconut with dessicated coconut. In this case, use warm water to grind it