• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Recipe Index
  • Food Photography
  • Subscribe

MySpicyKitchen

menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipe Index
  • Food Photography
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Curries & Stir Fries

    Published: May 16, 2011 · Modified: Dec 27, 2019 by Usha Rao

    Ridge Gourd Pigeon Peas Curry

    Starting today, I am on a blogging marathon for the next seven days. This time around, I was not sure if I would be able to do the marathon but when I saw Valli’s announcement, I could not resist. Of all the themes she had, I contemplated between curry in a hurry under 30 minutes and regional specials. For regional specials, I was thinking of doing the food from Telangana, a region from the state of Andhra Pradesh. I finally decided to go with curry in a hurry. When I started listing down the recipes for both the themes to weigh which theme would better work for me, the second food I listed for  Telangana food  is Beerakaya Alshanthakaya kura . Ridge gourd or Chinese Okra is called beerakaya and fresh black eye peas and cow peas are called alshanthakaya in Telugu.

    When alsantakaya is in season, the most popular dish and most liked curry from kids to elders in my family and among my relatives is beerakaya alsantakaya kura. This combination of curry is made almost 2-3 times a week during alshanthakaya season.  After coming to US, I use to make it with frozen black eyed peas. Frozen black eyed peas are not as tender as the fresh alshanthakaya we get back home but it the taste is close enough.  Then I found pigeon peas in the Indian grocery freezer section. Since then, I have started substituting black eyed peas with pigeon peas and I fine pigeon peas lot tastier and better than the frozen black eyed peas. Whenever I get beerakaya, beerakaya kandikaya kura is most often prepared curry in my kitchen, very tasty and can be prepared under 30 minutes! Pigeon peas are called kandi ginjalu (ginjalu=peas) in telugu.

    I kick start this month’s blogging marathon with beerakaya kandi kura or ridge gourd pigeon peas dry curry.

    Beerakaya kandikaya kura, ridge gourd pigeon peas curry

    Ingredients:

    • 1 cup Pigeon Peas
    • 2 tbsp. Oil
    • 5-8 Curry Leaves
    • 1 small Onion Chopped
    • 4-6 Green Chilies cut
    • 2 tsp. crushed Garlic
    • 1 tsp. Chili Powder
    • 1 tsp. Salt
    • ½ tsp. Cumin Powder (opt)
    • Turmeric
    • 550 gms / 1.2 lbs(approx.) / 2 medium to long Beerakaya~Ridge Gourd~Turai
    • 2-3 tbsp. Milk
    • Cilantro to garnish

    Preparation:

    • Boil some water in a pan to cook the pigeon peas.
    • Peel the ridge gourd and cut it into 1” pieces. I cut the gourd into 4 pieces length wise and then cut it to 1” cubes.
    • By now water will come to a boil. Add the frozen pigeon peas and cook it for 5 minutes or until tender.
    • While the peas are cooking, heat oil in a skillet or a pan, add curry leaves and onions, and sauté until onions are translucent.
    • Add green chilies, garlic and sauté until garlic is lightly roasted.
    • Add turmeric, chili powder, salt and mix well. Add ridge gourd and mix well.
    • By now the pigeon peas should be cooked. Drain the peas and add it to the pan. Add milk, mix well, cover and cook for about 5 minutes on high.
    • When the ridge gourd is cooked, remove the cover and continue to cook for another 5 minutes until all the water evaporates. Keep stirring it intermittently. If the curry is burning, reduce the heat.
    • Once the water evaporates, fry it for few minutes and remove from heat. Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with cilantro and serve with rice or roti.
    beerakaya kandikaya koora, ridge gourd pigeon peas curry

    Ridge Gourd Pigeon Peas Curry goes to Smitha's MLLA #35 an event started by Susan and to Suma's CWF: Toor dal/Pigeon Peas, an event started by Kiran.

    More Curries & Stir Fries

    • Bowl of tomato shorva.
      Tamata Shorva
    • Bowl of chicken shorva.
      Chicken Shorva ~ Kodi Shorva
    • Bowl of mung beans curry in a bowl placed on a plate. In the background is a bowl of rice and mung curry.
      Moong Bean Dal, Gujarati Mag
    • A bowl of lima beans curry.
      Lima Beans Curry, Video Recipe

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. Rama says

      August 09, 2011 at 8:01 pm

      Hi Usha lovely recipe will surely try by the way kandikaya antey Bobbarulaa ??

      Love Rama

      Reply
      • MySpicyKitchen says

        August 09, 2011 at 8:10 pm

        Rama, kandikaya antey fresh kandi ginjalu, pigeon peas. Manaku Indian store freezer section loo dorukutundhi.

        Reply
    2. Smitha says

      June 04, 2011 at 8:14 pm

      Hi Usha..

      Thanks again for your entry 🙂 Love Ridge gourd in any bean dish 🙂

      Smitha @ Kannadacuisine

      Reply
    3. Suma Gandlur says

      May 17, 2011 at 3:03 pm

      Interesting. As Harini mentioned we add toor dal to this curry but never tried adding alasandalu. And thanks for linking to my event. 🙂
      BTW are you from Andhra?

      Reply
    4. veena says

      May 17, 2011 at 12:10 pm

      looks great usha. I think i need to try this!!!1

      Reply
    5. Suman Singh says

      May 17, 2011 at 6:51 am

      Sabzi looks delicious..I remember mom making something similar to this back home..great recipe..thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    6. Raji says

      May 17, 2011 at 6:31 am

      This curry is looking delicious...very new to me...healthy and I bet tasty too.

      Reply
    7. Treat and Trick says

      May 17, 2011 at 5:59 am

      Great combo and looks delicious, nice clicks too...

      Reply
    8. Pavani says

      May 16, 2011 at 9:09 pm

      Beerakaya kura looks delicious. Adding peas/ beans makes it a even more healthy and nutritious.

      Reply
    9. Priya says

      May 16, 2011 at 4:43 pm

      Yumm, curry looks super delicious...Wish i get that whole plate of delicious curry rite now for my dinner..

      Reply
    10. Vardhinid says

      May 16, 2011 at 3:47 pm

      Yes Usha, I am in the US but the closest Indian store is 3 hours away :(. So my Indian grocery shopping is limited to once every 3 months. And the day we pick to go shopping .. the vegetables are in the dying stage that I hesitate to pick them up 🙂

      Vardhini

      Reply
    11. Priya (Yallapantula) Mitharwal says

      May 16, 2011 at 3:34 pm

      Wow, looks tempting and delicious 🙂

      Reply
    12. Vardhini says

      May 16, 2011 at 3:11 pm

      Looks so yummy. We dont get these vegetables here .. drooling ..

      Vardhini

      Reply
    13. harini-jaya says

      May 16, 2011 at 3:02 pm

      Good one! I usually make it with soaked chana dal or soaked toor dal.

      Reply
      • MySpicyKitchen says

        May 16, 2011 at 3:12 pm

        Never tried it with chana dal or toor dal however, at my grandma place they used to make it with soaked moong dal. That was when fresh black eyed peas were not in season.

        Reply
    14. Priya Mahadevan says

      May 16, 2011 at 2:31 pm

      the curry looks extremely colorful and completely delicious, Usha! YUM!

      Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I am Usha! Welcome to my space. I am the content creator and photographer here. I love cooking and all the recipes on the site are tried and tested in my kitchen.

    More about me →


    Diwali Recipes

    • A bowl of atukula mixture
      Poha Mixture ~ Flattened Rice Mixture
    • A bowl of maramarala mixture.
      Maramaralu Mixture
    • Bread muruku is a deep fried snack from South Indian prepared with rice flour and fresh bread crumbs
      Bread Muruku ~ Bread Janthikalu
    • Karasev in a plate.
      Kara Sev Recipe
    • Rava Laddu, Endu Kobbari Rava Laddu, Kobbari Rava Laddu, Coconut Rava Laddu, Sooji Laddu, Indian Laddu, Indian Sweet, Telugu Food, Telangana Food, Blogging Marathon, Journey Through Regional Cuisines,
      Yendu Kobbari Rava Laddu ~ Dry Coconut Rava Laddu
    • Microwave kalakand
      Microwave Kalakand

    more Diwali recipes ideas.

    Popular

    • Sq image of a platter of veg canapes.
      Bread Canapes Recipe
    • Shrimp noodle soup in a bowl
      Easy Shrimp Noodle Soup Chinese Style
    • Bowl of baked empanadas with mini bottle of tabasco sauce on the side
      Baked Chicken Empanadas
    • Omani Food, Omani Cuisine, Roasted Meat, Blogging Marathon, Around the world in 30 days with ABC cooking,
      Omani Shuwa ~ Slow Cooked Lamb

    Web Stories

    MySpicyKitchen web stories link

    Finger Food

    • Broiled shrimp.
      Party Shrimp Recipe
    • Tortilla cheese chips, Tortilla cheese crisps, Tucson Cheese Crisps, Blogging Marathon, Tortilla dish,
      Arizona Cheese Crisps
    • Plate of bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers
      3 Ingredient Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers
    • A platter of Fiesta pinwheels and a bowl of salsa
      Fiesta Pinwheels, Yummy Party Food

    Curry Recipes

    • A bowl of lima beans curry.
      Lima Beans Curry, Video Recipe
    • Bowl of ulligadda ukkera.
      Onion Egg Curry ~ Ulligadda Ukkera
    • A bowl of chikkudukaya kura or Indian broad beans in a platter along with a bowl of rice.
      Chikkudukaya Kura - Indian Broad Beans Fry
    • Gutti vankaya masala is a flavorful eggplant curry stuffed with peanut sesame spice mix.
      Gutti Vankaya Masala - Stuffed Baby Eggplant Curry

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Subscribe

    Contact

    • Know Me

    Copyright © 2022 MySpicyKitchen