Ridge Gourd Peel chutney

Usually we make curries out of Ridge gourd . But many of us will not be aware of making a chutney with its peels. This is one of the signature dishes of my mom.
It pairs well with rice or chapathi.
I am sure ridge gourd is such a yummy vegetable when cooked with dhal. But have you ever noticed the resulting quantity of the curry? If we miscalculate the end product and buy the same quantity as of any other vegetable, then we will face a challenge in distributing the curry. Oh! yes, the curry will shrink a lot after losing its moisture in cooking. So if we generally buy one lb of any vegetable , then we should double the quantity while buying this ridge gourd.
How come we throw away such a succulent peel like this? So if you are planning to make ridge gourd curry next time, then don't throw away the peels. Just save them for a yummy chutney.
Here is the recipe!

Peerkankai thol chutney:


Ingredients:
Ridge gourd - 1
Dry Red chilli - 4
curry leaf - 1 sprig
tamarind - small gooseberry size
salt - to taste
urid dhal - 1 tsp
cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
garlic - 1 clove



Method:
Wash and clean the ridge gourd.
Peel and save the outer skin , discarding the veins in the ridge.
Chop the skin coarsely.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadai.
Add all the above ingredients except salt, garlic and cumin .
saute them till the peels become tender (or) edges turn mild brown.
Then switch off the stove and cool it completely.
Then add salt, garlic ,cumin and grind to a fine paste.
Ridge gourd chutney is ready.

Serving suggestions:
Goes fine with chapathi, dosa or any rice meal.

Sweet Bonda

This is not a common sweet, but a unique dish from south TamilNadu's tea stalls.I had this sweet in my childhood days in Tirunelveli. People in that area have it with tea just like a cake, because of its lesser sweet nature.
Almost all the tea stalls / coffee shops in Tirunelveli and Tuticorin sell this sweet Bonda. They call it as 'cake ' as well as 'Muttai kose'. Muttai kose means cabbage in English. This sweet bonda resembles the shape of a cabbage and hence the name. (You can see some spiky layers around it after frying... My bonda did'nt give any outer layers.)
 One of my blogger friends asked for the recipe. My mom and her friends used to do it as a evening snack at home and I can recall the flavorful recipe now. I am posting it so that everyone may find it interesting.
Here is the recipe for Sweet Bonda.

Ingredients
All purpose flour (maida) - 2 cup
sugar- 3/4 cup
Baking soda - 1 tsp
salt - 1/4 tsp
water - just enough to knead the dough
Oil - for deep frying

Method:
Sieve AP flour with salt and baking soda twice.
(Always use newer baking soda).
Mix sugar to it mix very well in a dry state.
Then add water little by little and mix well.
The dough should not be too thick, it can be of consistency between ulunthu (urid dhal) vadai batter and chapathi dough. Cover it with wet towel and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Make big balls (in the size of a big lemon / small orange) with wet hands. Drop the balls into hot oil and fry them in medium heat till the outside becomes brown.
Sweet bonda is ready!
Serve with hot tea .