Ash gourd raita recipe, Poosanikai thayir pachadi

Ash gourd raita | Vellai poosanikkai thayir pachadi recipe, south Indian pachadi | raita variety made using white pumpkin, a perfect summer coolant. Raitas also called as Thayir pachadis in tamil, are a perfect accompaniment for a South Indian meal. We all love raitas and the most favorite among all is the Carrot capsicum pachadi. The same ash gourd raita can be done using cucumber, but you can add raw cucumber in the raita.
We generally make kootu or pitlai or mor kuzhambu or kasi halwa using white pumpkin in South Indian cuisine. This is the first time i tried poosanikai raita. We had this with puliyodarai and it tasted so yum. Check out Jeyashri's kitchen Instagram page to see the lunch menu updates. Do try this ash gourd raita and let me know how it turned out.

Ash gourd raita recipe

• Recipe Cusine: Indian
• Prep Time: 10 Minutes
• Cook time: 5 Minutes
• Serves: 2-3
• Author: Jeyashri
• Recipe Category: Lunch | Dinner
• Description: Ash gourd raita | Vellai poosanikkai thayir pachadi recipe, south Indian pachadi | raita variety made using white pumpkin, a perfect summer coolant

     Ash gourd | white pumpkin  1 cup (chopped)
     Curd | yogurt  3/4 cup
     Urad dal  1 tsp
     Mustard seeds 1/4 tsp
     Salt  as needed
     Green chili  1
     Oil  1 tsp

Method :

• Discard the skin of the ash gourd and take out the seeds in the center.
• Wash the ash gourd and chop them into tiny pieces.
• In a pan add the ash gourd pieces and add 1/2 cup of water.
• Add little salt.
• Cook this till the ash gourd becomes soft. Ensure it should not get mashed.
• This will get cooked in less than 5 minutes.
• Drain excess water if any.
• Allow this to cool completely. 
• In a bow add the yogurt | curd.
• Add salt and the cooked ash gourd.
• In a pan add oil and add the mustard seeds, urad dal and slit green chili.
• Once the dal turns golden brown, transfer this to the yogurt mixture.
• Mix well.
• Serve chilled with any mixed rice or with vatha kuzhambu sadam too.
• We enjoyed the raita as such without any accompaniments.

Method with step by step pictures :

• Discard the skin of the ash gourd and take out the seeds in the center.
• Wash the ash gourd and chop them into tiny pieces.

• In a pan add the ash gourd pieces and add 1/2 cup of water.
• Add little salt.
• Cook this till the ash gourd becomes soft. Ensure it should not get mashed.
• This will get cooked in less than 5 minutes.

• Drain excess water if any.
• Allow this to cool completely. 
• In a bow add the yogurt | curd.
• Add salt and the cooked ash gourd.
• In a pan add oil and add the mustard seeds, urad dal and slit green chili.
• Once the dal turns golden brown, transfer this to the yogurt mixture.
• Mix well.

• Serve chilled with any mixed rice or with vatha kuzhambu sadam too.
• We enjoyed the raita as such without any accompaniments.