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