Street-Style Spicy Ridge Gourd (No Water Added)

I made this ridge gourd for dinner, and it’s inspired by street-style, but I made it in my own way because I wanted it to be really rich and full of flavor. 

That’s why I’m using so many types of spices, because after all, the real taste comes from the spices. 

So you’ll find seven to eight dried red chilies in the paste, roasted gram flour stirred into the spice halfway through, and pomegranate seed spice added. 

Plus, I won’t be adding any water to it because Ridge Gourd releases enough on its own as it cooks, so your job is to let that water dry out.

Ingredients

For the Masala

• 100g oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 medium onions, blended with: 2 inches ginger, 4 to 5 garlic cloves, 2 green chilies, 7 to 8 dried red chilies
• 1 tomato, chopped

Ground Spices

• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground fennel
• 2 tbsp gram flour, dry-roasted separately before adding

To Finish

• 1 tsp pomegranate seed spice
• 1 tsp garam masala

Ridge Gourd

• 1 kg ridge gourd, peeled and cut into small pieces

Get the Paste Ready

I make the paste first, so you have to add onions, ginger, garlic, green chilies, and dried red chilies in a blender together and make a thick paste. 

That’s okay if your paste isn’t completely smooth, but make sure there are no large chunks left. 

Besides this, I keep everything else organized before starting, like I keep chopped tomato, spice powder, gram flour, etc. set aside separately. 

And you have to dry-roast gram flour when you’re making spices. 

Roast the Masala for 12 Minutes

Heat 100g of oil in a wok or heavy-bottomed pan on medium flame and let it heat for 3 to 4 minutes before adding anything. 

Once it’s ready, add the cumin seeds and let them crackle; they’ll splutter right when they hit the oil.

After that, add the onion paste and sauté it for about half a minute, then add the chopped tomato and keep sautéing until it softens and breaks down into the paste base.

Now add the salt, turmeric, ground coriander, and ground fennel. 

Hold the garam masala back for now. 

You’ll have to add that at the very end with the pomegranate seed spice.

That’s because garam masala’s flavor burns out quickly under direct heat, so adding it now means it won’t do much in the final dish.

While the masala is roasting, take a small separate pan and heat it on low, and add 2 tablespoons of gram flour and keep it moving with a spoon. 

After about 2 minutes, it will smell nutty and shift from a raw white to a light golden color; now you can take it off and stir it into the spice.

I do this step in a separate pan because raw gram flour has a starchy, a little bitter taste that doesn’t cook out properly when added into a wet spice. 

Roasting it first removes that completely, and once it’s in the spice, it thickens the base and helps it cling to the gourd pieces.

Keep roasting everything together on medium flame, stirring regularly, for about 12 minutes total from when the paste first went in. 

The oil will start separating and pooling around the edges of the pan when the masala is properly cooked; the spice base will look much darker and thicker.

Add the Pomegranate Seed Spice After Turning Off the Flame

Once the oil has separated, turn off the heat. Also, I should mention something I actually forgot to bring up during the spice steps: the pomegranate seed spice goes in after the flame is off, not during the masala roast. 

So with the heat off, add both the pomegranate seed spice and garam masala directly into the hot masala and stir them in well. 

Pomegranate seed spice has a sharp, fruity tartness that fades fast under heat, and adding it this way keeps that flavor alive in the final dish. 

Garam masala works the same way, so give everything a minute off the flame, and use that time to go peel and cut the ridge gourd.

Cook the Ridge Gourd Without Adding Water

Peel the 1 kg of ridge gourd and cut it into small pieces. Since I’d already washed it before peeling, I didn’t wash it again at this point. 

So I just add it to the masala, mix everything well until all the pieces are coated, and turn the stove on and keep it on a low flame.

The ridge gourd starts releasing water pretty quickly, and the masala loosens up as that happens. 

I don’t recommend adding more water in between, because the gourd releases enough on its own, and in fact the whole point is to let that water dry out completely. 

Also, because gram flour is in the masala, it will catch and stick to the bottom if the pan sits too long without being stirred. 

So keep stirring again and again throughout the cook, every few minutes, making sure nothing is catching at the bottom. 

After about 20 minutes, the water should be gone, and the masala should be sitting thick around each piece. 

After that, your recipe will be ready, and you can serve it with plain rice or bread.

If you want a second vegetable alongside, you can make spicy eggplant mash.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why dry-roast the gram flour in a separate pan?

Raw gram flour has a starchy, slightly bitter taste, and it doesn’t cook out properly when added into a wet masala base. 

So I roast it first in a separate pan for about 2 minutes, until it smells nutty and turns a light golden color. 

My gram flour keeps sticking to the bottom during the cook

That happens when you keep the flame too high or when the pan goes too long without being stirred. 

I kept going back to stir throughout the cook for exactly this reason. If it does catch, add a small splash of water, stir it in, and scrape up the stuck bits. 

Keep the flame low from there and don’t leave the pan unattended.

Why add the pomegranate seed spice after turning off the flame?

Pomegranate seed spice loses its sharp, fruity tartness fast when it cooks under heat. 

So don’t add it when roasting spices; do it after the dish is done. 

Adding it to the hot masala with no active flame keeps that tartness in the final dish, plus at the same time, you can add garam masala.

Can I use fewer red chilies if I want it less spicy?

Yes, you can even use 4 to 5 chilies; your dish will still be well-spiced but less hot. 

If you go with less than that, it also starts to affect the color and the depth of the masala, because the dried red chilies contribute more than just heat. 

So if you’re adjusting for mild heat, reduce the chilies but keep everything else the same.

Can I skip the pomegranate seed spice if I don’t have it?

You can, but the flavor will be changed; the pomegranate seed spice adds a sharp, fruity tartness that balances the richness of the gram flour and oil in the masala. 

That’s why I add it. If you don’t have it, you can also squeeze a little lemon juice.