Nungu

One of the true joys of the summer is eating Nungu நுங்கு – Ice Apple. It comes from the Palmyra Palm. Palm tree is the official tree of Tamilnadu. Its even called as the celestial tree or karpaga Viruksham. All the parts of the tree is used in some way or the other. The Palmyra fruit is black in colour and the outer portion is carefully cut to reveal the 3 jelly pockets inside. Rarely they may have two or even one pocket. The jelly part is covered with a yellow skin and when carefully removed, the delicious fleshy jelly is revealed and its filled with palmyra juice. Its one of the most eagerly waited fruits to enjoy every summer.

Here is a video of how Palmyra is harvested.

Recipe for Pudalangai Paal Kootu made with snake gourd and toor dal. Easy everyday lentil recipe. The addition of milk gives a very nice creamy taste.

I am not a milk person. I do not like milk. I do not like yogurt too! Milk in coffee is fine. But plain milk and yogurt – no way!!!! Yeah – Please do not judge me. I come from a family that loves milk and yogurt. So, when someone tells my mom, how come Suguna turned out to be like that? She says Suguna is an Aurangzeb. Just ignore her. There is this “theory” that Aurangzeb put his father Shahjahan in jail for building Taj Mahal. He was mad at him for wasting money and resources. So, basically he could not appreciate the art and architecture and all the good things in Taj Mahal. A person who cannot see the good thing gets coined in my family as “Aurangzeb”. I am the Aurangzeb in the family. I never appreciate curries in which milk or yogurt is added. I am still the same but my husband loves loves the addition of dairy in curries. I have never had leftovers with this paal kootu. Do give it a try. Here is how to do pudalangai paal kootu.

Boil Vegetable Boil the snake gourd – pudalangai until tender but firm. Set aside. I boiled my snake gourd with 1/4 cup of water in a pressure cooker for exactly 2 whistles. I immediately released the pressure manually after the two whistles. Letting the steam settle on its own makes the gourd to a mush. Masala Paste Make a paste of coconut, green chillies and cumin seeds. Grind the ingredients with 1/4 cup of water to a smooth paste. Set aside. Simmer Curry Heat a pan and add in the cooked snake gourd, the ground coconut paste and cooked toor dal. Add in the salt. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes. Add in the milk and boil for a minute more. Remove from heat and set aside. Tadka Heat coconut oil in a pan until hot. Add in the mustard seeds and dried red chillies. Let the mustard seeds splutter. Immediately add it to the curry. Tip on adding tadka to curry: If you are going to serve the curry later, do the tadka just before serving. The curry will be so aromatic (or) After adding the tadka, do not mix the curry. Let the tadka just float on top. Mix it just before serving.

Serve with hot rice.

Main Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped snake gourd – pudalangai
• 1/2 cup cooked toor dal
• 1/2 cup boiled cow milk
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

For the Masala Paste

• 1/4 cup fresh shredded coconut
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 green chillies

For the Tadka

• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 3 - 4 dry red chillies (i used gundu chillies)

1. Boil the snake gourd – pudalangai until tender but firm. Set aside.
2. Make a paste of coconut, green chillies and cumin seeds. Grind the ingredients with 1/4 cup of water to a smooth paste. Set aside.
3. Heat a pan and add in the cooked snake gourd, the ground coconut paste and cooked toor dal. Add in the salt. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes. Add in the milk and boil for a minute more. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Heat coconut oil in a pan until hot. Add in the mustard seeds and dried red chillies. Let the mustard seeds splutter. Immediately add it to the curry.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Category: Curry
• Cuisine: Tamilnadu