Turai Pakodi – A healthy curry of sponge gourd cooked with fried gram flour nuggets

Turai or tori is a summer-special vegetable. It is a very simple, homely and comforting North Indian-style curry. It is an easy and quick recipe made with just a few basic ingredients. It can be served with roti, paratha or rice for lunch or dinner, and can also be easily packed in a lunch box.

There are many ways in which you can make curry with turai. Turai or gilki are quite similar in texture and taste, but the main difference is their peel. One has smooth skin and the other has ridged skin, so it is called ridge gourd. They are known as sponge gourd and ridge gourd. You can use either of these gourds for this recipe. These gourds sometimes taste bitter, so check the taste after chopping.

Turai is my favourite vegetable, and I love to make it with minimum spices and just fresh herbs. But sometimes I try to make it in different ways to make my family happy. I learned this Turai Pakodi ki Sabji from my mother, and now I often make it for dinner with flaky parathas.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED

Turai – Select fresh, small-sized and heavy turai. If the turai feels light compared to its size, it may not be fresh and could be dry from inside, so don’t buy it.
Gram flour – We need gram flour or besan to make small-sized pakodis.
Herbs – Green chili, ginger, lemon, fresh coriander and curry leaves.
Tomato – Use a fresh chopped tomato to add to the curry.
Spices – Basic spices like salt, chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric, cumin and asafoetida.
Ghee– I prefer making the tempering in ghee but you can use any preferred neutral flavor oil

How to make Turai Pakodi Ki Sabji

Wash and peel the turai. Taste it and then chop it into small pieces. Many times turai tastes bitter, so tasting it before starting the cooking is important.

Make a medium-thick batter with gram flour and the basic spices. Whisk it well to make the batter soft and fluffy, and then make small-sized pakodi’s in hot oil. Fry until golden and crisp. Drain and keep aside.

Heat ghee or oil in the cooker and add cumin, asafoetida, green chili and curry leaves. Then add the tomatoes and sauté on low heat for a minute.

Now add turmeric and the chopped turai, followed by salt, chili powder and coriander powder. Stir and mix well. Pressure cook for 3–4 whistles. There is no need to add any water to the curry as the turai will release enough water while cooking..

Open the cooker when it has cooled down, then add the fried pakodi’s to the curry. Close the lid and let it simmer for 3–4 minutes, or until the pakodi’s become soft and absorb the curry.

Now switch off the heat and add lemon juice and freshly chopped coriander. Mix well. Serve with roti or parathas.

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Turai Pakodi ki Sabji

Turai Pakodi – A healthy curry of sponge gourd cooked with fried gram flour nuggets

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Course: Lunch box Recipe, lunch recipe, Main Course

Cuisine: North Indian Cuisine, Uttar Pradesh Cuisine

Keyword: gilki ki sabji, tori ki sabji, turai ki sabji, turai pakodi ki sabji

Servings:

Calories: 157kcal

Author: Anjana Chaturvedi

Ingredients

1 kg Sponge gourd / Turai /Gilki
1 medium Tomatoes / Tamatar
2 Green Chillies / Hari Mirch
1/2 inch Ginger / Adrak
handful Fresh Coriander / Cilantro / Hara Dhaniya
1 tbsp Lemon Juice / Nimbu Ka Ras
pinch Sugar / Chini
to taste Salt / Namak
3/4 tsp Turmeric Powder / Haldi Powder
1/2 tsp Red Chilli powder / Laal mirch powder
1 tsp Coriander Powder / Dhaniya Powder
1 tsp Cumin Seeds / Sabut Jeera
1/3 tsp Asafoetida / Hing powder
3 tbsp Ghee/Clarified Butter
few Curry Leaves / Kadi Patta

Pakodi

1/3 cup Gram flour / Besan
to taste Salt / Namak
1/2 tsp Red Chili powder / Laal mirch powder
1/4 tsp Asafoetida / Hing powder
pinch Turmeric Powder / Haldi Powder
1 Green Chilies / Hari Mirch
to fry Cooking Oil

Instructions

Wash and peel turai and then taste it . if it is bitter then discard it else chop into small cubes .
Take gram flour in a deep bowl and add the spices- salt, chili powder, asafoetida and turmeric , add water to make a medium thick paste.
whisk it well t make it light and fluffy .
Heat oil in a pan and make small size pakodis in hot oil , fry till golden and crisp. drain out when done.
In the pressure cooker ,add ghee and then add cumin seed, asafoetida, chopped green chili, curry leaves and then add the chopped tomato and sauté for few seconds.
Add turmeric , chopped turai, salt, chili powder, coriander powder and mix well.
Close the cooker lid and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles on medium heat, no need to add water as turai it self releases enough water while cooking.
Open the cooker when it cool down and then add the fried pakodis in the cooker.
Cover the cooker with the lid (REMOVE THE WHISTLE )and simmer the curry for 5 minutes or cook till pakodi become soft.
Switch off the heat and add fresh chopped coriander and lemon juice and mix well.
Serve with roti or parathas with a spoon of ghee on top and Enjoy.

Notes

Note-

if you have not whisked the gram flour batter properly and the pakodis are not soft then after adding them in the curry , pressure cook for a whistle , then they become soft.

Nutrition