Traditional Lunch Series - Day 2 (Peerkangai thuvaiyal and Red chauli in gravy)

While one is a traditional recipe, the other is not. Both were had with rice, but I'm sure it will taste good with rotis too.

Menu
Peerkangai (Ridge gourd) thuvaiyal
Red Chauli beans
Served with rice, yogurt, sweet Kesar mango slices, Lime pickle

Thuvaiyal is a kind of Indian pesto, consisting of a vegetable and a mix of sauteed spices best served with rice. This also works great as an unusual sandwich spread with some cheese / cream cheese.

Recipe for Peerkangai Thuvaiyal
Earlier version
This time I adapted from the Meenakshi Ammal Cook and See

Ingredients
3 medium ridge gourds
1 tsp oil
fat pinch asafoetida powder
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp udad dal
4-5 dried red chillies, broken into pieces
small ball of tamarind, soaked in water (marble sized)
1/4 cup fresh grated coconut
1 tsp or more salt

Directions
1. Wash the ridge gourd, light peel the ridges (optional) and dice.
2. In a wok, heat the oil, add the mustard seeds, red chillies, udad dal and fry till the dal turns golden. Remove from heat and keep aside.
3. In the same wok, throw in the diced ridge gourd with a pinch of salt and turmeric, saute for 2 min, add 1/4 cup water, cover and cook till soft.
4. Grind the cooled spice mix (mustard, red chillies, udad dal) with the coconut and softened tamarind to a coarse powder. Remove from mixer and keep aside.
5. Grind the cooled cooked ridge gourd to a coarse paste, in the final pulse, add the earlier ground masala to this, with enough salt to taste and blend.

Remove in a bowl and serve with steaming rice. Rice and thuvaiyal are mixed with some gingelly oil for the perfect combination. Ghee also works fine.

Red Chauli
These dried lentils are the red version of black eyed peas, which make an appearance off and on in the supermarket. This time, I brought a pack of these red chauli beans home. The recipe is for a kootu kind of preparation that can be mixed with rice, or had with rotis or even soft dosais.

Ingredients
1 cup dried chauli beans, soaked overnight or for at least 4-6 hours
2 tsp oil
pinch of asafoetida
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
2 large tomatoes, finely chopped
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt or to taste
Lemon juice, coriander leaves

Directions
1. Pressure cook the soaked beans with 2 cups of fresh water for two whistles. Switch off cooker and cool until the masala is prepared.
2. Heat the oil in a wok. Start with asafoetida, splutter the mustard and cumin seeds. Add curry leaves, saute till they crackle.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes and all the spice powders & salt. Stir for 4-5 minutes on a low flame till the tomatoes are mushy.
4. Open the cooled cooker and add the cooked beans to the tomato paste. Stir in up to one cup of water to adjust consistency. If you want more gravy, add extra water and a slurry of rice flour / gram flour in water in the final stage and bring to a simmer.
5. Adjust the salt. Add lemon juice or tamarind juice for tanginess and garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

[Pictures shall be uploaded later]

Day 1 - Vengaya Sambar, Vendakkai Curry, Potato Roast
Day 2 - Peerkangai Thuvaiyal, Red Chauli

Tags: Tambram cooking, gravy, lentils, red chauli beans, thuvaiyal, peerkangai, ridge gourd, tamil lunch menu, Saffron Trail, Recipe, Food, Indian food blog, Healthy eating, Healthy living, Mumbai, India