Luffa(Peerkankai) Skin & Vadagam Chutney(Thuvayal)

I had this chutney with rice at my friend, Rev's house. It was so yummy and I had to buy the "Curry Vadam" from shop to make this.

Very good for lunch boxes and can be refrigerated for a week and used.


Ingredients:
Luffa (Peerkankai or Ridge Gourd) Skin - 2 cups
Vadagam (see below for more details) - 1/2 cup
Tamarind - a small lemon sized
Red chillies - 6-8 (or as spicy required)
Salt to taste
Coconut - 1/4 cup
Oil - 1/2 tablespoon

For tempering:
Oil - 1/2 tablespoon
Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Curry leaves - few
Red chillies - 2, split into halves

Method:
Wash luffa skin and saute them with red chillies in oil, until its turns pale brown. Fry vadagam seperately in few drops of oil and keep aside.

Grind luffa skin, chillies, vadagam, coconut, tamarind, salt to a fine paste. Sprinkle little water if required.

Temper(Add mustard seeds to hot oil, allow it splitter. Then add curry leaves, red chillies, fry for 2 mintues) it with the ingredients mentioned above.

Serve hot with rice. This can be refrigerated for a week and used.


Cooking time - 20 minutes
Serves 5-6 persons


About Vadagam

Picture of vadagam I bought .......

Vadagam is a must in most of the South Indian homes. It is usually used for curries(Kozhambhu). It will have very good flavour and taste, if used. I have never prepared it but might try in future.

Presenting the recipe of it from Harushi.com.

Ingredients:
Small onions - 3kg
Garlic - 1/2 kg
Mustard seeds - 200gms
Fenugreek seeds - 100gms
Split black gram - 250gms
Cumin seeds - 250grams
Salt especially crystalsalt - 2 handfull
Turmeric powder - 2tbls
Castor oil - 200ml


Method:
Onion and garlic are peeled and chopped finely. Add all the other ingredients (except castor oil) with it. These combined ingredients are smashed or grinded coarsely in ural lightly. But it's hard to go for ural these days. So try to crush them with a hammer (or something of that sort) lightly so that they can be molded into balls.

Take care not to crush them heavily then the juice will ooze out. Make the balls and place them all in a plate. Dry them in hot sun. In the evening, break all of them, add half of the castor oil, mix well and make balls again. In the morning, place them on the plate and again let it dry on the heat of the sun. Again in the evening do the same process using the other half portion of the castor oil.

These balls must be dried in the hot sun for 6 or 7 days until they are well dried. You can keep them for a couple of years.