Peerkangai paal kootu or Beerakaya palu Kura is a mild gravy made by cooking Ridgegourd in milk along with basic spices. Serve this Ridgegourd milk gravy with dosa, roti or plain rice.
Ridge gourd is our family’s favorite vegetable and a versatile one. I use this in a variety of recipes like Peerkangai kuzhambu, Peerkangai kootu, Peerkanga chutney, Ridgegourd peel thogayal, Ridgegourd cutlet and many more. It is one of the best veggies to use in non-veg recipes too. Try this Ridgegourd muttai pirattal. You can even use this in mutton curry. Paal kootu is a mild, thin curry that is easy to make in under 15minutes.
Coming to this Beerakaya palu curry, I prefer this to be mild and light-colored. As we only use milk as the gravy base, the ridge gourd curry tends to be runny and not thick. This slightly sweetish ridgegourd milk curry is the best when served with dosas and wheat roti/chapatis.
Ingredients and substitutions:
Peerkangai/Ridgegourd – Young vegetable without ridges is good for this paal kootu. If you got matured seeds, please remove them before using them.
Milk – Use the normal cow milk after boiling and at room temperature. Chilled milk when heated up suddenly with spices has chances to curdle. Moreover, always keep the heat at a simmer and do open cooking after adding milk to avoid frothing and spilling. For the vegan option, you can always use coconut milk in place of cow milk.
Spice – I use one or two green chillies and a tsp of sambar powder to add heat. You can use a tsp of chilli powder and coriander powder alternately.
The addition of finely chopped garlic is optional. I didn’t add as I prefer peerkangai paal kootu to be simple.
Peerkangai paal kootu with stepwise pictures and method follows.
Preparation:
- Wash and peel the skin and ridges of two medium-sized ridge gourds. Chop into small pieces.
- Cut 1/4 cup of onion or 5 shallots, slit 2 or 3 green chillies.
Recipe for Ridgegourd milk curry:
- Heat 3tbsp of oil in a pan, season with a tsp of mustard seeds and a tsp of cumin seeds.
- Add onions, 2 slit green chillies, a pinch of hing and some fresh curry leaves. Saute onions until they become transparent and soft.
- Next, add 2 large cups of chopped peerkangai and mix.
- Put a 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder and a tsp of sambar powder.
- Add half a cup of water, cover with a lid and cook for 5 mins until the vegetable is half cooked.
- Now add a tsp of salt and 2 cups of boiled milk. Keep the stove in low heat and let the ridgegourd cook in milk for 5 more minutes.
- Switch off and serve the Beerakaya palu posina kura with soft dosa or roti.
Check out the video uploaded in the recipe card and please subscribe to my YouTube channel, if you like give a thumbs-up.
Peerkangai paal kootu | Beerakaya palu posina kura | Ridgegourd milk curry
Ingredients
- 2 Ridge gourd medium-size
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- ½ Onion chopped
- 2 Green chilies slit
- ¼ tsp Hing
- 1 sprig Curry leaves
- ½ tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Sambar powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 cups Milk or coconut milk
Instructions
Preparation:
- Wash and peel the skin and ridges of two medium-sized ridge gourds. Chop into small pieces.
- Cut 1/4 cup of onion or 5 shallots, slit 2 or 3 green chillies.
Recipe:
- Heat 3tbsp of oil in a pan, season with a tsp of mustard seeds and a tsp of cumin seeds.
- Add onions, 2 slit green chillies, a pinch of hing and some fresh curry leaves. Saute onions until they become transparent and soft.
- Next add 2 large cups of chopped peerkangai and mix.
- Put a 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder and a tsp of sambar powder.
- Add half cup of water, cover with a lid and cook for 5 mins until the vegetable is half cooked.
- Now add a tsp of salt and 2 cups of boiled milk. Keep the stove in low heat and let the ridgegourd cook in milk for 5 more minutes.
- Switch off and serve the Beerakaya palu posina kura with soft dosa or roti.
Video
Notes
1) Instead of sambar powder you can use chilli powder and coriander powder.
2) Don't cook at high temperatures after adding the milk as milk may curdle with spices.
Absolutely delicious!What a gorgeous curry!