Recipe - Dodka (Ridge Gourd/ Toorai/ Turia) Sabzi

I am back. It was a short visit and now I am back to the grind. And the grind starts with getting my car repaired. So I am here at the service station, watching my baby elephant being operated upon as I write another simple recipe. Ridge Gourd is called Dodka, Toorai, Turai, etc depending on which part of the country you are in. There's another variety of this called Silk Squash (Gilka). The difference is in the ridges on the outside and also that the Gilka is much softer and squishy on the inside. You can use either of these in this recipe. This should be eaten with any bread, preferably chapati.

Ingredients - 
Serves 2 people (depending on appetite!)

1. Dodka - 250 gms
2. Moong dal (split green gram or golden gram) - 1/2 cup
3. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
4. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
5. Onion finely chopped - 1 medium
6. Red chilli powder - 1 tsp (or as per taste)
7. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
8. Salt - as per taste
9. Oil (peanut, sunflower) - 3 tsp
10. Fresh coriander/parsley - For garnishing

Method - 

1. Take the half cup moong daal in a bowl and cover it with water. Let it rest for at least 30 min. If you keep it for less time, it will be crispier in the sabzi. So adjust the timing according to your liking.

2. Peel the ridges off the Dodka

3. Chop them into small pieces. If the pieces are too small, they will get all mashed up when cooked, so about 2 cm would be the ideal size of the cubes.

4. Chop the onions (not too fine)

5. Take a wok and put oil in it. When hot, put the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start splitting, put the cumin seeds in and quickly put in the onions. Mix and let it cook for a few minutes on low flame.

6. If you are in a hurry, mix the Dodka pieces with the moong daal in a separate bowl and keep in the microwave on full power for about 5 min. By the time the onions are cooked in the wok, the dodka will be half cooked in the microwave this way.

7. Once the onions are cooked, put the red chilli powder and turmeric powder in and mix in the dodka and moong daal.Put salt as per taste and mix well. If dodka has been cooked already in the microwave for 5 minutes, then 5-7 minutes of cooking should do it otherwise about 10 minutes or until the dodka is soft.

8. Garnish with fresh coriander or parsley

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This is a very standard way of making dodka and it's the easiest way as well. It's by no means exotic. But then, you don't eat exotic food everyday, do you?