Snake Gourd Thoran | Padavalanga Thoran

Hi,

Happy Friendship Day Folks! I know I delayed in wishing you but weekends end in a jiffy. With million things to do, these two days are not enough for me and finally end up in messing up my schedule. But then, I believe that every one of you had a great day with your friends and celebrated friendship.

Friends play an important role in our lives. I do have few souls as my friends who were with me in thick and thin of my life; supported me at all times; made me realize myself; pushed me beyond limits, and inspired me to become better “ME”. Once I started blogging at my space, I gained a lot of virtual friends – few who are available for me at all times and mentor me, friends who motivate me and extend their helping hands when I reach out to them, my readers who follow myspace religiously and leave their feedback, few who silently follow my space. Whatever may be and however may be, Friends are Friends at the end of the day. Cheers to our friendship and thank you, everyone of you, for your endless affection and valuable support. Long live our friendship.

I know I am ranting as usual. Let me get to the recipe.

The recipe which I am going to share is an uncomplicated fail proof recipe prepared using Snake Gourd. – Snake gourd thoran. For my friends who are not familiar about Indian delicacies, Thoran is an authentic Kerala cuisine and a dry side prepared usually as an accompaniment for rice.

I love snake gourd – greenish lengthy vegetable. Be it a simple kootu or snake gourd with egg or stuffed gourd, anything prepared with snake gourd remains as my favorite. My grandma used to quote as they look like a snake, they are referred as called as snake gourd. Funny isn’t it?

If you would have grown in southern part of Tamil Nadu, you would have seen as how the crop is cultivated. People used to tie a stone with a thread to this vegetable so that it grows straight without curves. The plant looks like a creeper and the vegetable used to hang down from the plant.

I heard you. Here it goes…

Ingredient

2 Snake Gourd
1 Big Onion
4 Green Chilies
1 teaspoon Cumin powder
¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
1 tablespoon Oil
½ teaspoon Mustard Seeds
½ cup Grated Coconut
Salt as required
Handful Curry leaves

Method:

Wash snake gourd and cut them into small pieces
Chop onions and green chilies
In a bowl, combine snake gourd, onion, chilies, cumin powder, turmeric powder, and salt together. Mix them well
In a medium sized non-stick pan, add oil and heat over medium heat.
Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds. Once the seeds splutter, add curry leaves and vegetable mixture
Simmer the flame and cook the vegetable with lid covered until they become tender and cooked well
Do not add water to the mixture. Cook until the snake gourd is cooked and moisture is absorbed completely.
Finally, add the grated coconut to the mixture and give a stir
Let it simmer for about 2 minutes and then switch off the flame
Serve it with sambar and enjoy with a dollop of ghee for a fantastic Tuesday lunch