Ridge-gourd with cauliflower sabji

This was a last minute kitchen sink sabji experiment that turned out exceptionally well so I thought I'll quickly post about it. I had one sole ridge-gourd at hand. Now one is not enough to make a sabji for two so I kept it in the fridge hoping to use it next time with a sambhar or in some mixed vegetable concoction. Now a week later, the ridge-gourd was still sitting alone in the fridge so I finally decided to quickly make a kitchen sink sabji with it. I had some cauliflower at hand so thought of making a cauliflower potato sabji and adding ridge-gourd as an extra kick. A lone red bell pepper was threatening to go bad so I added that too at the end. Overall I wasn't expecting much but the sabji turned out to be really good!

Recipe: Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
1 long ridge gourd
1 small head of cauliflower - cut into small florets
2 small potatoes - cubes
1 onion - chopped fine
2 small green chilis - chopped fine
3 cloves of garlic - smashed
1 red bell pepper - chopped fine
1/4tsp mustard seeds
1/4tsp cumin seeds
1/4tsp turmeric powder
1/4tsp garam masala
1/2tsp cumin powder
1tsp coriander powder
chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
1Tbsp vegetable oil
salt

Recipe:

  1. Wash the ridge gourd and using a potato peeler peel the skin off. Cut the ridge gourd into two pieces and chop finely.
  2. Heat oil in large non-stick pan. When hot, temper with mustard seeds and cumin seeds. 
  3. When the seeds start to pop, add green chilis and onions and saute until onions start to brown.
  4. Add smashed garlic and turmeric powder and saute for a minute more.
  5. Add chopped potatoes and cook uncovered for a few minutes.
  6. Add the chopped ridge-gourd next and cook stirring occasionally for about 5-10mins until the ridge-gourd softens up and releases most of its water.
  7. Follow up with cauliflower florets. Mix well and cook covered for 5minutes until the cauliflower has slightly softened.
  8. Add the chopped red bell pepper.
  9. Add cumin, coriander powder and garam masala. Season with salt. Mix well. Remove from heat.
  10. Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro and serve with hot chapatis.

Comments

Sabji sounds healthy n delicous....beauuuuuuuuuuuuutiful tempting clicks dear.
sangeeta said…
While i love doing such experiments myself , this combination sounds very very interesting ......i love all guards so they can be used in any form for me....the picture looks great !!!
Padhu Sankar said…
I have never tried combining ridge gourd and cauliflower .That's wonderful
TREAT AND TRICK said…
Love this combo, sounds interesting and healthy too...
? said…
Interesting combination; don't use ridge gourd much; will try.
I use this combination with other veggies for my Bengali style mixed vegetable. your choice of spices are different. looks really tempting.
Suman Singh said…
mix veggie looks delicious..
Akanksha said…
picture looks good and the combination of cauliflower and potato and ridge gourd was very innovative indeed...sounds yummy
PJ said…
Thanks Jay, it surprizingly tested good too.

Sangeeta, yes, i love all gourds too.. they give out this slightly sweet flavor to the dish that i really like.

Padhu, thanks, it turned out to be a nice combination.

Treat and trick, thanks, me too.

?, i dont either but i liked it this time, i think i'll use it more next time :)

Sayantani, oh yeah, Bengali cuisines really does something very special to mixed veggies!

Suman, thanks!

Neha, thanks, it was something decided on the spur of the moment, but i was glad it worked out well.
PranisKitchen said…
thats so delicious sabzi ver healthy one pj.. ilike the vegetable's picture beautiful
tinyskillet said…
It looks very good and healthy! I do like how you improvise!
RV said…
I am coming over PJ, ridge gourd is my favorite and it looks so gorgeous with my yet another favorite veggies cauliflower... slurppp..
PJ said…
PranisKitchen, thanks, it was a last minute putting things together kind of sabji. glad you liked it :)

Lyndsey, thanks! once in a while i just like to mind-lessly put things into a pot until something eatable comes out.. rarely though i hit a good combo :)

RV, absolutely! come on by anytime, i'll keep this sabji with some rotis ready for you!

Sanjeeta, thanks! so glad you liked it.
Unknown said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said…
Hi, PJ how r u??? I am back after a long gap..the dish looks grt....has similarity with our bengali veg mixed dish....though we cook it little bit with other spices..
Ushnish Ghosh said…
Dear Prajakta
I like this dish. I never imagined a combo of Cauliflower and ridge Gourd.
The spicing is very nice. I will try soon. Ridge gourd are in abundance now.:-)
Have a nice week ahead
pierre said…
i love cauli flower and your rcipe is very tempting !! many thnaks Pierre de paris
Hamaree Rasoi said…
Dear Prajakta

Loved the looks of the dish. You have also written that it tasted great as well. Would like to try it out at home as well.

Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi
Suji said…
Nevre heard of this combo PJ..We only make chutney with rigdegourd, will try this soon...
PJ said…
kamalika, welcome back! yes, the dish is similar to Bengala dish, now that i think about it, i should have included Bengali spices into it too.

Ushnish-da, me neither :) it was just a kitchen sink sanbi where i kept throwing in whatever was at hand and the end result was surprizingly delicious.

Pierre, thanks, so glad you liked this combo.

Deepa, you should, this was more of a last minute dish for me, but i liked it enough to give it more tries now :)

Kairali sisters, ridge gourd chutney sounds delicious. i have not made it yet, but cant wait!
tasteofbeirut said…
just saw some gourds today at the market and was tempted but did not have any ideas; thanks to you, now I have a good one!
Khaugiri said…
Nice idea...never thought about this combo.
Khaugiri said…
Nice idea...never thought about this combo.
Spice said…
Hi PJ, how r u doing, it's been a while since I visited your blog, looks like I missed on many wonderful recipes, will browse them slowly....love the mix veggie u put together...take care, will c u around...