Turiya (Ridgegourd) Milk Curry

India is the land of curries. There are thousands of curries and various adaptations of the same curry. 

Each region and each family have their own version. It might be surprising to know you wouldn’t catch a cook in India using Madras curry powder. It simply doesn’t exist in India. What we have are masala powders, similar to a curry powder, each designed for a different curry. Masala powders can be a combination of roasted or unroasted spices depending on the curry one is making. It can also be a freshly ground spice paste.

Coconut paste, freshly grated coconut and coconut milk are commonly added in Southern curries. They are much lighter.

Not all curries are full of sauce. We do have a lot of dry curries too.

Today’s recipe is a nutritious curry made with Ridgegourd.

Turiya or Ridgegourd is a popular Indian vegetable that is cooked in curries and chutneys. It is over a foot long, with a very rough green skin that is formed into ridges. Hence the name. The skin is peeled and usually discarded, but I have seen chutneys made with it. Ridgegourd is a healthy vegetable low in calories.

Curries in Southern India usually have an ingredient like coconut milk, buttermilk, yogurt, lemon juice or tamarind added to give that special flavor and taste. In this recipe, we’re adding plain milk which is an unusual ingredient in a curry. The milk gives a very different taste to this curry, almost a rich sweet taste. That is why it is necessary to add more chili powder in this curry than you would normally use.

Heat oil. Fry the spices, onion and garlic.

Add the lentil and fry.

Add the ridgegourd and 1/4 cup of water. Cook.

Add the milk and cook for a minute. 

Curry is done.

 Ingredients:

1 large ridgegourd, skinned, deseeded and chopped into pieces

1/4 cup Onion, chopped

2 cloves Garlic, chopped

1/4 cup Milk

1 tbsp Channa dal, soaked in water for 2 hours and drained

2 Dried Red chilis

1/4 tsp Mustard seeds

1/4 tsp Cumin seeds

Chili powder to taste

Salt to taste

2 tbsps Oil

Heat the oil in a pan. When hot add the mustard and cumin seeds.

Allow the mustard to pop. Add the onion, channa dal, garlic and the dried red chili. Fry until the onion is translucent.

Now add the vegetable and fry for a minute. 

Add the chili powder, turmeric powder and salt. Mix.

Add 1/4 cup of water to the vegetable and cook covered until its soft and tender. By now the dal should be cooked too and most of the water evaporated.

Reduce heat to low and add the milk. Let the milk come to a boil and thicken a little.

Curry is ready to be served. It goes good with plain steamed rice.

The milk can make the curry mild and slightly sweet so add a bit more chili powder than usual.

For a video version of this recipe go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNnN1WyBPo8&t=212s