Snake gourd is commonly available in our Indian and Asian grocery shops, so it appears periodically in our kitchen. This is an easy dish to make with the snake gourd – the ginger-coconut yoghurt a wonderful foil to the green crispiness of the vegetable. It is another of the wealth of yoghurt pachadi dishes (vegetables in yoghurt) of South India, Tamil Nadu in particular.

Similar dishes include Dried Mango Pachadi, Bitter Melon Pachadi, Tomato Pachadi, Smoky Roasted Eggplant in Yoghurt, and Crisp Okra Pachadi.

Browse all of our Pachadi dishes and our Snake Gourd recipes. All of our Indian recipes are here, and our Indian Essentials are here. Or explore our Early Winter recipes.

We use Australian measurements: 1 tspn = 5ml; 1 Tblspn = 20ml; 1 cup = 250ml.

Pudalangai Thayir Pachadi | Snake Gourd Yoghurt Pachadi

ingredients

200g snake gourd

2 cups yoghurt, beaten until smooth

sea salt

paste

3 – 4 cm piece ginger

2 Tblspn coconut, grated (frozen is ok to use)

tadka

0.5 tspn brown mustard seeds

1 tspn ghee

method

Grind the ginger and coconut to a powder/paste and set aside.

Peel the snake gourd, cut it into halves lengthwise (or quarters if quite large). If the seeds and fibre in the middle are spongy or tough, remove – they come away easily with a spoon, and then slice thinly. Place in a pan with 0.25 cups salted water and saute until bright green, then cover and simmer for 3 – 5 mins until very soft. Remove from the heat.

Stir some of the snake gourd with the yoghurt and coconut paste. Mix well. Place into a serving dish and garnish the top with the remaining snake gourd pieces.

Make the tadka by heating the ghee in a tadka pan or small pan and adding the mustard seeds. Heat until they pop, then pour or spoon the tadka over the pachadi.

Serve with rice and a vegetable dish.