Snake Gourd Tambuli Recipe – Tangy, Spicy Coconut Vibrant Curry
Image Credit: Tmbuli is served with steamed rice | Instagram - @ashwinipai

Tambuli is one of the traditional delicacies of Udupi, Karnataka. Tambuli is generally eaten or presented at the start of the meal or as a side dish. It can also be consumed as a main dish, snack or lightened breakfast. There exists a wide variety of Tambuli, made from palak, tomato, drumsticks, cucumber and so on. One such Tambuli is prepared by constituting Snake Gourd. Snake Gourd Tambuli is a hot, spicy and sour gravy. The gravy is a blend of fresh creamy coconut, spicy green chillies, snake gourd pulp and tangy buttermilk. The curry is then tempered with oil, mustard seeds, red chillies and curry leaves. This  is prepared without onion and garlic. It is a delicious vegan curry. This Snake Gourd Tambuli goes well with rice, chapati, poori, parottas, or appam. The Snake Gourd Tambuli is light, nutritious and flavourful with no strong spices. Possessing low calories, the dish is perfectly filling and excellent to include in weight loss diets. It keeps bodies healthy and hydrated too!

While Tambuli is a kind of raita or buttermilk eaten in Karnataka. Its name derived from a Kannada term Thampu, meaning cool/cold. On the other hand, Snake Gourds are exactly like what the name suggests – they are extremely long, slender, and frequently wriggly like a snake. Native to Asia, snake gourds were first domesticated in India. In the early 1800s traders carried the seeds from China to Europe. The snake gourd has numerous uses in Ayurveda,  a cooling agent. The nutritive value of the gourd is unbeatable as compared to other vegetables. Snake gourd is called Chichinda in Hindi, Padawal in Marathi, Potlakaya in Telugu and Pudalangai in Tamil. The snake gourd tastes similar to cucumber and is eaten as an immature vegetable like a summer squash. It is a finest-versatile food item that can be sauteed and added to sabzi, curries, chutneys, stuffed and grilled dishes, stir-fries, soups, and pickled foods.

Snake gourd tambuli | Picture credits : Instagram @buffaloback_collective

 

Prep time – 10 minutes

Cooking time – 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 Snake gourd, small piece 
  • 1/3 cup grated Coconut
  • 1 Green Chilly
  • ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • ¾ cup Buttermilk 
  •  To Temper -
  • 2 teaspoon Oil
  • ½ teaspoon Mustard seeds
  • ½ teaspoon White Lentils (Urad dal)
  • 1 Red Chilly
  • Curry leaves, as per taste

Method

  • Take a small snake gourd, split it into half. Discard the seeds and chop finely.
  • Put a pan over medium flame and pour water. Add in the cubically-chopped snake gourd. Cook until it becomes soft and tender.
  • In a mixer, combine grated coconut, green chilli, cumin seeds, and salt to form a vibrant paste.
  • Now, add in the mixer the cooked snake gourd along with water. Finely grind the ingredients together to form the curry paste.
  • Transfer the curry paste into a separate large vessel. 
  • Add the butter milk and mix well to prepare curry. 
  • In a small pan, prepare the temper. Add oil, mustard seeds, red chilli, white lentils, and curry leaves. Allow the mix to splutter. Add the temper to the snake gourd curry.
  • Serve and enjoy. 

The taste buds are definitely going to surrender after  relishing the goodness of Snake Gourd Tambuli with hot steamed rice!