Preparations:

Wash and clean the snake gourds. Cut the snake gourds into thin slices. One can use a thin slicing blade in a processor or hand slicer and cut them into thin slices. Take the snake gourd slices into a bowl and add salt. Mix well with fingers. Cover the bowl and keep it aside for 5 minutes. The snake gourd pieces absorb salt to become soft. (Care: This vegetable requires very less salt compared to the normal vegetables. Hence put a bit less salt only). Water oozes from the vegetable. After 5 minutes press and separate water from the snake gourd pieces and take them into a microwave safe bowl. Do not throw away the water. This is the vegetable stock of snake gourd which can be used in any gravy dishes. Store this stock in fridge. Cook snake gourds in a microwave on high power for 5 minutes, covered. Stir once with a spoon and cook on 30% power for 5 minutes, covered. Allow 5 minutes standing time before removing the vegetable from the oven.

Break the two red chilies into small pieces and keep them aside. As discussed above the salt is less and so also the red chilies. After preparation the curry would have a natural sweetness of the vegetable.

Method:

Heat a pan and add oil to it. When oil is hot add Bengal gram & black gram and fry. Fry till the seeds start changing color. Then add mustard seeds and cumin seeds and fry till the seeds splutter. Now add red chilies and curry leaves & mix well. Now add the cooked snake gourd pieces and mix well. No need to add extra salt as we have mixed the snake gourds and salt in the beginning. Fry for some time till dry. Transfer the curry to a serving bowl and serve hot with plain rice.

Points to remember:

The taste of this dish lies in cutting the vegetable. If you do not have a processor or a slicer, then take pain and slice the vegetable into thin round pieces. The touch and look of thinly sliced snake gourds give extra taste. Try yourself to understand what I mean.

Do not throw away the water after pressing (to remove water) the cooked snake gourd pieces. This water is full of vitamins. Taste it and add water if it is too salty. You can give this to your children as health drink. Some children don’t mind to drink it, my son used to take it. Snake gourds have a peculiar sweetness in them. So, most of the children enjoy the water. Or else store this stock in fridge and use in any gravy dish instead of water. If you are storing this stock for longer period, store it in Deep Freezer.

Snake Gourds are rich in vitamins. Especially for persons suffering with low Hemoglobin content this vegetable is a natural source. These vegetables are tasty and also light on stomach.