Potlakaya Pachadi ~ Snake Gourd in Yogurt Sauce

Potlakaya is snake gourd and is a long vegetable belonging to gourd family. It is a fruit which is eaten like a vegetable. Since it is very long, it is called snake gourd. I used small to medium sized gourd and you can see how long it is. I had to cut the gourd into pieces to include it in the frame.

You must be wondering why I am talking about potlakaya when I should be doing a yogurt recipe! Well, since I don’t eat yogurt with rice, which is a norm in South Indian, I always look for other ways to incorporate yogurt into my diet. I usually make lot of raithas and also perugu pachadi with vegetables that need to be cooked before consuming.

The next recipe for this week, cooking with yogurt, for the Cooking Carnival, Cooking with Protein Rich Ingredients is potlakaya pachadi ~ snake gourd pachadi.

Potlakaya pachadi is a common preparation in many Telugu families and is one of the oldest preparations. This is also prepared in some of the other South Indian states as well.

Snake gourd is cut into pieces, cooked and mixed with yogurt. A tempering is poured over it and served with plain rice. I like this pachadi as it can be served as a side dish and also as a snack. In fact, I eat most of the perugu pachadlu and raitas as snack and isn't it a heathy snack!!

I was not happy with the pictures I took the day I prepared the pachadi. I had some leftovers, I saved the leftovers for 2-3 days to take some decent pictures. I was unsure if could do Indian groceries before I post this recipe as I do these groceries once in 3-4 weeks or sometimes even longer. As a backup, I wanted to have some decent pictures. I personally prefer taking pictures immediately or on the day the food is prepared. For some reason, the texture, the freshness of the food is no longer there once it is refrigerated. At least I have not had good luck photographing leftover food. Surprisingly, I have been lucky with these pictures and with ground chicken pictures. These are lot better than my previous attempts.

Total Time: 25 - 30 minutes + cooling time
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 - 20 minutes
Yields: 2 cups (check again)

Ingredients:

1 medium sized / 250 grams Snake Gourd, sliced or 2 cups sliced
¼ tsp. Cumin Seeds
½ + ¼ teaspoon Salt
¾ - 1 cup Water
1 cup Yogurt (I used lowfat. Can use whole milk yogurt or use 1 tablespoon sour cream with low or nonfat yogurt for a rich pachadi)
⅛ - ¼ tsp. Mustard Seeds, powdered (I used ⅛ teaspoon seeds and felt I could have added a bit more for a pungent taste. Adjust to taste)
Cilantro ~ Kothmir for garnish

Tempering

2 tsp. Oil
⅛ tsp. Mustard Seeds
⅛ tsp. Cumin Seeds
1 Dry Red Chili
1-2 Green Chilies chopped
¼ tsp. Urad Dal
½ - ¾ tsp. Garlic mince
Pinch of Turmeric

Preparation:

Cook snake gourd - Wash and cut snake gourd lengthwise into to two pieces and slice each piece ¼” pieces.
In a saucepan, take sliced snake gourd pieces, cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon salt, water and cook until snake gourd is tender, and almost all the water is evaporated. Cook on high until it comes to a boil and then reduce the flame to medium and cook. It took about 15-20 minutes.
Add mustard powder, mix and let the mixture cool.
Tempering - Heat oil in a small pan. When oil is hot, add mustard, cumin and red chili. Let the seeds splutter and dry red chili turn brown.
Add green chilies, urad dal, garlic and let the chilies change color and garlic lightly roasted.
Add turmeric and turn off the heat.
Putting it together - Take cooked snake gourd in a serving bowl.
Add yogurt and mix well.
Pour the tempering and give a good stir.
Taste and adjust salt.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serve with rice.