Snake Gourd Vegetable Recipe – Snake gourd is a popular vegetable in Indian cuisine and you can cook this in a variety of ways.
Table of Contents
What is Snake Gourd Vegetable
Snake gourd is Padwal and this vegetable is available throughout the year in India. The vegetable is bland and has a slightly bitter taste that generally disappears during cooking.
The matured snake gourd has high water content, zero cholesterol, is low on calories, and can be safely consumed without any side effects.
The scientific name of the snake gourd is “Trichosanthes Cucumerina”. It grows on vines in south-eastern Asian countries. A snake gourd is a long vegetable with twisted ends.
Snake gourd vegetable FAQs
Snake gourd is called Padwal in Hindi.
Snake gourd vegetable has a strong odour and hence has to be cleaned well before cooking. To get the best out of this vegetable, first, select a snake gourd that is tender and light green in colour. Wash this under running water and then scrape off the soft whitish skin gently with a knife. Once again wash the snake gourd clean and it is then ready to cut.
After you clean the snake gourd cut it into 2 – 3 pieces and then cut it vertically. Discard the seed along with the pulp that is in the center. After you are done away with the seeds, cut the snake gourd into thin slices. The vegetable also has a slightly bitter taste and though it disappears after cooking, I recommend that you rub it with some salt before rinsing again.
Snake Gourd Vegetable Recipe
Since this vegetable is bland on its own, we prefer to cook it with some soaked chana dal. This also adds to the protein content of the dish. Also, we do not like to overpower this with strong spices and use only a dash of pepper to season it. Let’s go through the minimum ingredients.
INGREDIENTS :
- Snake Gourd. 500 grams snake gourd vegetable, washed, cleaned, and cut as per the instructions above.
- Chana Dal. Chana dal is a split-gram lentil. This adds volume and taste to the other bland snake gourd vegetable. You will need to soak the chana dal for a few minutes before cooking for it to turn soft. Only 2 tbsp of chana dal is enough for the recipe. You could skip chana dal in this recipe but it gives a nice crunch to the cooked vegetable.
- Onion & Chillies. One medium onion slice and 3 to 4 green chilies finely chopped.
- Dried Red Chillies. Just 2 or 3 dried red chillies to be broken into 2 or 3 small pieces.
- Pepper Powder. Add 1/2 a tsp of freshly ground pepper powder to the finished dish for flavour and spice.
METHOD :
- Heat 2 tbsps oil in a pan and saute one medium onion along with 3 to 4 green chillies and the red chillies broken till the onion is translucent.
- Also, add in the soaked chana dal and fry for a minute. Soak the chana dal in water for at least 15 minutes before cooking.
- Add in the sliced snake gourd and salt to taste and also half a tsp of sugar. Adding sugar is optional though but gives a lovely taste to the vegetable.
- Now add half a cup of water and cover the vessel and cook till the chana dal is soft.
- After the dal turns soft add 1/2 a tsp of pepper powder and then switch off the flame.
- This simple and easy snake gourd vegetable recipe gets done in minutes.
Serving Suggestions
As Snake Gourd Vegetable Recipe is a dry dish, you may like to serve it as a main course meal with some chapatis or Rotis.
You could also serve it as a side dish along with Rice and Dal. Also, try Toor Dal Recipe with Simple Green Masala.
More vegetable recipes you may like
Beans Foogath – Easy to make Recipe with French Beans
Green Peas and Carrot | Gajar Matar Sabzi
Recipe Card
Snake Gourd Vegetable Recipe | How to cook snake gourd
Course: Indian Veg RecipesCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Easy4
servings15
minutes15
minutes30
minutesSimple snake gourd recipe with chana dal.
Ingredients
Snake gourd – 500 grams (cleaned and sliced)
Chana dal -2 tbsp (soak for 15 minutes)
Onion – 1 medium sliced
Green chillies 3 to 4 chopped
Red chillies dried – 2 broken into pieces
Pepper powder – 1/2 tsp
Sugar – 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking – 2 tbsp
Directions
- How to cook Snake Gourd
- Heat oil in a vessel and sauté the onions and green chillies and broken red chillies.
- Add chana dal and fry for 1 minute
- Now add the sliced snake gourd, salt and sugar.
- Add 1/2 cup water and cook till the chana dal is soft.
- Finally, add the pepper powder and switch off the flame.
- Serve snake gourd with chapati or roti
Notes
- You can also cook snake gourd without the chana dal.
- Adding sugar is optional but it gives a lovely taste to the snake-gourd vegetable.
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