Beerakaya Pachadi Recipe (Ridge Gourd Chutney)

Beerakaya Pachadi is Andhra style ridge gourd chutney. Andhra Cuisine is very popular for the spicy, hot and delicious chutney varieties made with vegetables. In fact our traditional Andhra meals is incomplete without a fresh hot and spicy chutney. This Beerakaya Pachadi is a delicious chutney made with ridge gourd, spices, herbs and some times roasted lentils are also added for a nutty flavor.

Every home has a different recipe to make this pachadi. Here I am sharing 2 easy recipes which I make often for our meals.

The first recipe uses dried red chilies, chana dal and urad dal. The second recipe uses green chilies and sesame seeds. You can use green chilies for dried red chilies in the first recipe and vice-versa. Both taste and look different.

Beerakaya Pachadi is best eaten mixed with hot rice and ghee. But it also goes well with Idli, Dosa, Paratha and even with chapati/ rotis.

Traditionally, ridge gourd chutney is made using a manual stone mortar pestle which actually gives a wonderful slight coarse texture. It is also believed that the pachadi made in a stone mortar pestle tastes much superior than the chutney made in electric grinders/blenders.

Even in the modern days a lot of people use these manual equipment because they love the pachadi made using that. I use a mixer/grinder to make the chutney. But if you want to attain the coarse texture like in the traditional chutney, use a food processor.

This chutney tastes best when made with fresh and young ridge gourd since they have lesser hard fibers. Here are some tips:

Pro Tips

• You may leave out this step if using homegrown gourds (without pesticides). Spray some vinegar all over the ridge gourd and sprinkle/apply salt or baking soda. Leave them for 5 to 7 minutes and scrub them well with a vegetable brush. Rinse under running water very well.
• Peel the ridges using a peeler, cut off both the ends and rinse the gourd well.
• Some ridge gourds can taste bitter, I prefer to taste test the raw ridge gourd before chopping.
• I prefer to use chana dal, urad dal and/or sesame seeds since they not only add flavor to the pachadi but also add some texture and absorb some of the liquids from the gourd. This results in a thicker and nutty chutney.
• If you want you can also leave the lentils in the same pan and continue to cook the gourd, this way they will soften and blend easily while grinding. But I prefer to powder them first for a unique nutty flavor.
• If you want to use tamarind, soak a small piece of tamarind in hot water and squeeze it well and use only a little.

More beerakaya recipes
Beerakaya Curry
Beerakaya Fry
Beerakaya Pappu

Photo Guide

How to Make Ridge Gourd Chutney (Stepwise Photos – Recipe 1)

1. Dry roast 3 to 4 dried red chilies, 1 tablespoon chana dal and ½ tablespoon urad dal on a medium heat until golden. Add ½ teaspoon cumin to the hot pan. Toss until the cumin smells good. Transfer these to a plate to cool. If you want you may leave them in the pan and continue to saute the veggies in the next step.

2. To the same pan, add 1 tablespoon oil and add 3 cups chopped ridge gourd. Fry them for 3 to 4 minutes on a medium flame. Cover and cook on a low to medium flame until they are cooked and tender. When done the skin is still firm and only the flesh softens but the gourd looses its raw flavor. Set aside to cool, separately from the roasted lentils.

3. Pour half teaspoon oil and add a garlic clove. Add ½ cup chopped tomatoes, a pinch of turmeric and 1/3 teaspoon salt. Cook until mushy.

4. Powder the dal, cumin and red chili first in a jar. If you want you may set aside one red chili aside, blend, taste test and add the other if required.

5. Slightly coarse is also ok.

6. Add gourd, tomatoes and garlic. Pulse to a coarse or smooth chutney to suit your liking. If you want you may add very little tamarind paste. Be careful not to add a lot.

7. Make the tempering in hot oil by adding red chili, cumin, garlic, mustard and dal. When they turn golden, add curry leaves and hing.

Pour this to the ridge gourd chutney.

Recipe 2 – Andhra Beerakaya Pachadi

This recipe yields chutney that has a mild nutty taste that comes from the sesame seeds. They don’t give a bitter taste but if you don’t like to use them replace with chana dal and urad dal like I did in the first method. The taste would be different though due to the green chilies used.

If you want you may also use tamarind paste while blending and leave out tomatoes. But the tang from tamarind is different from the tang from tomatoes.

1. Heat a pan, dry roast sesame seeds on a medium flame till you get a nice aroma. do not burn. once they cool down make a fine powder of the seeds and set aside.

2. Add oil to the same pan, fry green chili for 2 to 3 mins or till they wilt off. Set aside to cool. To the same pan, add ridge gourd and fry till they are soft cooked. Set aside to cool.

3. Add little more oil to the same pan, add tomatoes, sprinkle salt and turmeric. Saute till the tomatoes turn mushy. Add tomatoes, ridge gourd, cumin and green chilies to the ground sesame seeds powder and grind to smooth or coarse pachadi to suit your taste.

4. Temper with tempering ingredients. Add the prepared pachadi and mix well.

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