Ash Gourd (Winter Melon) Curry

          Winter Melon or Ash Gourd or White Pumpkin is a vegetable widely used in Indian cooking and that too most commonly in yogurt and coconut based dishes, like moru kuzhambu ( buttermilk gravy). For a change I wanted to try out a curry with it and without the usual curd and coconut. Since this vegetable gives out a lot of water when cooked I had to add a ground paste of cashews and onion to get a thick curry. The end result was very satisfying,  the curry tasted great with rotis, also check out this moru kuzhambu with this vegetable..

Need To Have

• Ash Gourd - 2 cups chopped
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 10 

To Grind

• Onion - 1 small
• Tomato - 1 medium
• Cashews - 5

Method

          Grind all the ingredients given under 'to grind' into a fine paste. Heat some oil, add the mustard and cumin seeds, when it starts spluttering add the asafoetida, the ground paste, turmeric and chilly powders. Keep sauteing till the raw smell disappears ( about 5 to 7 minutes), if it turns dry, sprinkle some water and saute.

          Now add the chopped ash gourd pieces and 1/2 cup water and salt, cover and cook till the vegetable is cooked. Remove the lid and allow the gravy to thicken. Finally add the curry leaves and remove, this goes very well with rotis, think it should also go well with pilafs too.

Note
I had frozen the chopped ash gourd pieces.
Don't add too much water, otherwise the curry will be very watery.
Pusinikkai is the Tamil name for ash gourd.