Pudalangai Varuval

Pudalangai is the Tamil translation for Long gourd / snake gourd. Varuval means fry.

Snake gourd is an exotic Asian vegetable.
Other Names are Snake Gourd, potlakaaya (in Telugu), pathola (in Sinhalese), pudalankaai (in Tamil), dhunduli(in Assamese), paduvalakaayi (in Kannada) and padavalanga (in Malayalam).

Normally frying requires lot of oil, but not for this varuval. So here is a fry that goes fine with any dhal / sambar rice.

Fresh tender pudalangai:



Fried pudalangai:



Ingredients:
Tender pudalangai - 1/2 kg
Red onion - 1
fennel seed (sombu)- 1 tsp
oil - 1 tbsp
red chilly powder - 1 tsp
garam masal powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)
salt - to taste

Direction:
Gently rub the pudalangai with a knife and remove the very fine outer skin.
Wash and clean it.
Now halve it and remove all the seeds and stuffs inside.
Chop it into small pieces.

Chop the onion finely.

Heat oil in a wok. Add fennel seeds. When the fennel turns red, add the onion and saute for a minute.
Then add the chopped pudalangai and stir well.

Sprinkle some water. Add a little salt and cook covered till the vegetable is done.

Then add the red chilly powder, garam masal powder and stir till all the moisture is gone.

Pudalangai varuval is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve as side dish with roti , chapathi , sambar rice or curd rice.
The above said quantity can be served for 4 people.