About SnakeGourd:



Trichosanthes cucumerina is a tropical or subtropical vine, raised for its strikingly long fruit, used as a vegetable, medicine, and, a lesser known use, crafting didgeridoos. Common names include snake gourd (var. anguina), serpent gourd, chichinga, and padwal. It is known as chichindo in Nepali,chhachindra inOriya, chichinga or chichinge in Bengali, purla in Sambalpuri language, potlakaaya in Telugu, pathola in Sinhala, pudalankaai(புடலங்காய்)in Tamil, dhunduli in Assamese, paduvalakaayi  in Kannada and padavalanga in Malayalam.


Ingredients:


Snake Gourd -2 cups , cut into small diced.
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Curry Leaf - 1 sprig
Turmeric Pd - 1 tsp
Salt

To Cook Dal:


Tuvar Dal - 1/3 cup
Turmeric Pd - 2 tsp
Hing / Asafoetida -a pinch

Cook Dal in open lid with water till the dal is smashed when u press with fingers,don't over cook(Check Photo below).Add Water as needed.




For Grinding:

Coconut - 3 tbsp
Garlic - 1 small Pod(Don't add more than this ,it will become too much garlicy)
Jeera / Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Grind All Above to a coarse powder without adding water.



Method:


1.Heat a pan add oil,Then add mustard seeds and curry leaf.

2.Then add Cut SnakeGourd and turmeric Pd.
3.Saute it till snake gourd becomes tender.Sprinkle water so snake gourd can cook with steam.You can also sprinkle water and cover and cook ,to cook faster.Don't add too much water and make it soggy.
Once its cooked add the ground powder to it and mix well.
4.Cook for 5 min for the masala to cook.
 5.Then add cooked Dal.
6.Mix well and dry out if any water is present.It should be a very dry dish.

7.Transfer to a serving Dish.