chronicles of turai.

Last Sunday while I was at Food Not Bombs, I picked up a new kind of vegetable on my way out. It was described by an Asian woman as what I can only phonetically describe as "Musswah," but I managed to find it on Google by searching ridged cucumber.

I have discovered, tentatively, that it is ridged gourd, in fact, and that it is called Turai.


This is what the vegetable actually looks like, and it's a beautiful hue of green. Less typical than a cucumber or something of the like.

I am going to try my hand at this recipe, which I found on Food.com, because I actually have all but one of the ingredients on hand, and the missing is only a garnish.

From Food.com:
# 2 cups ridge gourd, peeled and sliced (turai)
# 1 cup onion, sliced
# 1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
# 1 teaspoon chopped gingerroot
# 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
# 1 green chilies, chopped
# 1/2 cup yellow moong dal, soaked and drained (split yellow gram)
# 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
# 1 cup tomato, chopped
# 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
# salt
# 1 tablespoon fresh coriander leaves, chopped, for garnishing



1. 1 Heat oil in a non-stick pan.
2. 2 Add cumin seeds and allow to crackle.
3. 3 Once they stop crackling, add onions and saute until lightly browned. Sprinkle few drops of water to prevent onions from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
4. 4 Add garlic, ginger, green chilli and stir-fry until the raw smell of ginger and garlic is gone.
5. 5 Fold in the turai and saute for 3 minutes.
6. 6 Add the moong dal, turmeric powder, salt and 1/2 cup of water.
7. 7 Cover and cook on medium heat till the turai and dal are soft.
8. 8 Add tomatoes and mix well.
9. 9 Simmer for 5 minutes so that the tomatoes soften.
10. 10 Garnish with corriander leaves.
11. 11 Serve hot.

Once I've prepared the turai, I'll post an update. It was such a find!