Beerakaya Koora (బీరకాయ కూర, பீர்கங்கை சுற்றி, तोरी की सब्जी, പീച്ചങ്ങ കറി)

Beerakaya Koora (బీరకాయ కూర, பீர்கங்கை சுற்றி, तोरी की सब्जी, പീച്ചങ്ങ കറി) Beerakaya curry is an Andhra specialty recipe. Ridge gourd is known as beerakai in Telugu,turai in Hindi, peerkangai in Tamil, peechanga in Malayalam and torai Marathi.

Regional Dish : Andhra; Tamil Nadu; Karnataka; Kerala; South India and some places in North India.

Cuisine Style : Andhra | Cooking Time 15 minutes | Take with Rice | Type Curry | Shelf Life : 1 day| Quantity : 6 Servings.

Appx. Nutritional values : calcualted for 1 serving ( 2tbsp)

Calories (128.3 kcal), Carbohydrates (1.7 g), Protein (0.4 g), Fat (6.3 g).

Ingredients :

• Beerakaya (Ridge gourd, turai) 2 cups
• Green chillies  5 to 6 ( cut in to small pieces)
• Garlic 2 cloves
• Onion 1 ( cut in to small pieces)
• Cumin seeds (jeera)
• Turmeric powder (haldi)
• Mustard seeds (rai)
• Milk  1/2 cup
• Oil 1 tbsp

Method :

1. Peel, wash and cut the beerakaya.( check for bitterness, if bitter discard)
2. Heat oil, add turmeric, mustard seeds and cumin seeds, to this  add garlic cloves and onion. let this fry for about 5 minutes.
3. Once the onions become transparent, add the beerakaya  and fry this for about 2 mins.
4. Cover the pan and let the beerakaya boil in it’s own water.
5. Once all the water has evaporated, add milk and let it  cook in low flame till the milk solidifies.
6. Add salt and remove from heat.

Other variants / Cuisine Style : 1. Beerakaya kura with Ginger  and Tomato; 2. Beerakaya with poppy seeds; Beerakaya with sesame seeds; 3. Beerakaya with onion; 4. Beerakaya kandi pappu;5. Beerakaya with pesarapappu.