ridge gourd

What is Ridge Gourd, Turai? Benefits, Uses, Recipes Viewed 308297 times
Also Known as
Turai, Turiya

What is ridge gourd, turai, turiya?


It is a dark green, ridged and tapering pretty vegetable. It has white pulp with white seeds embedded in spongy flesh. A ridge gourd also commonly known as Turai or Turiya is a well beloved in India. Its hard skin is peeled off and chopped and cooked as desired.


How to Select Ridge Gourd, Turai, Turiya
Choose ridge gourd that has a deep green color, taut skin, and that are free of soft spots, blemishes and darkened areas. Their stems should be green and fresh looking. Ridge gourd should be heavy for their size and firm enough. Avoid those that have signs of decay including injuries to the skin or water-soaked areas or if they are soft and rubbery.


Culinary uses of Ridge Gourd, Turai, Turiya

Indian vegetables using Turai, Ridge Gourd

Indian vegetables using Turai, Ridge Gourd are used in Konkani food, Gujarati recipes and Bengali recipes. Ridge Gourd Upkari, prepared almost daily in Konkani households, is a flavourful way of stir-frying veggies, with a traditional tempering and addition of grated coconut.

The ever popular Gujarati sabzi made of 5 vegetables, panchkutyu shaak uses turai. The generous use of coriander, coconut and fenugreek-based muthia gives the sabzi a pleasant green colour and traditional flavour typical of grandma’s cooking.

Healthy turai Indian recipes. Ridge gourd with poppey seeds is a good healthy dry sabzi. Poppy seeds, generally associated with sweets and rich gravies, are a wonderful source of iron! Here, they are used along with ridge gourd to make a quick and easy subzi which is iron rich.

For those who love spicy vegetables, try the masalewali turai recipe where turai is perked up with tomato pulp, onions and lots of spices. 


· Ridge gourd can be stuffed with zesty filling made from spices like sesame seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and red chillies that are roasted and ground to a fine paste along with ginger, garlic, onions and tamarind, has a mingling of flavors :- sweet-spicy-tangy. A delicious stuffed curry that goes well with both rice and rotis
· It is a tasty and nutritious addition to dal/sambhar
· Although, the most common everyday method seem to be cooking turai solo with few spices, either with or without a gravy.
· Ridge gourd is a vegetable which is cooked by Andhras usually as a pachadis, stir fry, cooked in milk or with lentils.
· Ridge gourd can be cut into slices and fired in batter like our chilli bhajjis.
· A healthier option would be to make gravy out of it. Fry some onions, tomatoes, garlic with some salt and chilli powder. Add some cubed ridge gourd and let it cook on a simmering flame. Add half a cup of milk and let the gravy thicken. After removing from flame, season and serve hot.

How to Store Ridge Gourd, Turai, Turiya
Fresh ridge gourd is best stored in a refrigerator. They can be wrapped in plastic bag and will stay crisp and firm for a week.

6 Health Benefits of Ridge Gourd, Turai. Turiya
1. Weight Loss : This gourd is absolutely in calories and carbs, thus making it a very virtuous choice for those on low-cal and low-carb diet. It has a high moisture content and decent amount of fiber. All this together helps to satiate you for long hours while consuming just a few calories (15 calories / cup).

2. Digestive Benefits : Since this vegetable is full of moisture and fiber with negligible fat, it’s a boon for digestive system too. Water and fiber are 2 key nutrients for easy movement of bowel. So in other terms it facilitates bowel movement and helps prevent constipation.

3. Anti-diabetic Effect : The low carb count of ridge gourd coupled with insulin-like peptides it contains, qualifies this vegetables as diabetic-friendly. It can safely be added to a diabetic menu. Consuming ridge gourd regularly can help to maintain blood sugar levels.

Click here to know more about the 6 Health Benefits of Ridge Gourd, Turai.

Nutritive Information for Ridge gourd, Turai, Turiya:
1 Cup of chopped ridge gourd is about 86 grams
RDA stands for Recommended Daily Allowance.

Energy - 15 calories
Protein – 0.4 g
Carbohydrate –2.9 g
Fat – 0.08 g
Fiber – 1.6 g

Vitamins:
4.3 mg of Vitamin C = 10.8% of RDA (about 40 mg)
28.3 mcg of Vitamin A = 0.6% of RDA (about 4800 mcg)

Minerals:
15.5 mg of Calcium = 1.5% of RDA (about 1000 mg)
27.5 mg of Magnesium = 7.8% of RDA (about 350 mg)
22.3 mg of Phosphorus = 3.7% of RDA (about 600 mg)
0.84 mg of Zinc = 7% of RDA (about 10 to 12 mg)
43 mg of Potassium = 0.9% of RDA (about 4700 g)
2.5 mg of sodium
Chopped ridge gourd
Wash the ridge gourd thoroughly with water and dry using a kitchen towel. Peel the ridge gourd using a peeler and discard the peels. Then place the ridge gourd on a chopping board and cut off the stem. Then cut it into 2 halves lengthwise using a sharp knife. Place one halve on the chopping board and make vertical slits at regular intervals using a sharp knife. Line all the long pieces together and make horizontal slits at regular intervals to get chopped ridge gourd (approximately ¼ inch in diameter). You can cut them finely or roughly as per the recipe requirement.
Grated ridge gourd
Wash the ridge gourd thoroughly with water and dry using a kitchen towel. Peel the ridge gourd using a peeler and discard the peels. Hold the thick/ thin end of the grater in one hand and the ridge gourd in the other hand. Now place the ridge gourd on the blade and push it downwards using the force of your hands to get grated strands of ridge gourd. You can grate it thickly or thinly as per the recipe requirement.
Ridge gourd cubes
Wash the ridge gourd thoroughly with water and dry using a kitchen towel. Peel the ridge gourd using a peeler and discard the peels. Then place the ridge gourd on a chopping board and cut off the stem. Then cut it into 2 halves lengthwise using a sharp knife. Place one halve on the chopping board and make vertical slits at regular intervals using a sharp knife. Line all the long pieces together and make horizontal slits at regular intervals to get ridge gourd cubes (approximately ½ inch in diameter). 
Sliced ridge gourd
Wash the ridge gourd thoroughly with water and dry using a kitchen towel. Peel the ridge gourd using a peeler and discard the peels. Then place the ridge gourd on a chopping board and cut off the stem. Then place the ridge gourd horizontally on the chopping board and cut across the board using a sharp knife to get sliced ridge gourd. You can cut them thinly or thickly as per the recipe requirement.

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