You won’t believe how pretty the snake gourds in Malaysia look. Compared to these, what I was used to in Bangalore seem like their distant anorexic cousin. Having tried various flavours and combinations with snake gourd, I figured I could stuff some of them in it and it would taste good. 

And it did. 
 

WHAT WE NEED

Snake gourd                                    2 large

Onion, finely chopped                 1

Tomato, finely chopped              1

Capsicum, finely chopped          1

Garlic cloves                                    2-3

Ginger                                                1″

Cumin seeds                                    1 tsp

Red chilly powder                           1 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder                             1/2 tsp

Ajwain                                                 1/4 tsp

Chickpea flour / Besan                   3-4 tbsp

Grated coconut (optional)             2 tbsp

Oil

Salt
WHAT TO DO

• Heat 2 tsp oil and add cumin seeds
• Add finely chopped ginger and garlic.
• Once the garlic starts browning, add the onion and sauté
• After the onions become translucent, add the tomatoe and capsicum and sauté
• Add turmeric powder, chilly powder and ajwain and mix well.
• Once the tomatoe and capsicum are cooked, add the chickpea flour and salt and mix well to combine.
• The flour needs to soak up some of the moisture and render the filling to come together.
• Set aside to cool.
• Cut each snake gourd to four cylindrical pieces and remove the seeds and fibre inside.
• Stuff the snake gourd with the vegetable filling 
• Heat some oil for shallow frying (3-4 tbsp) and once the oil is hot, place the stuffed snake gourd in the oil.
• Cover and let it cook on medium heat for around 10 minutes.
• Check every 3-4 minutes and turn the snake gourd so that it is well cooked on all sides.
• Once cooked, garnish with grated coconut and serve.
• Enjoy it as a starter or with hot rice and sambhar.

   

NOTES

1. To cook faster, you can steam the snake gourd for 5-7 minutes before stuffing it.
2. If the stuffing is in excess, it can be used as a filling for parathas or in puff pastry sheets to make curry puffs.
3. Sometimes some part of the  stuffing can fall off the snake gourd, you can either take it out and refill it later or let it get fried and eat it crisp.
4. It can either be served as is or can be cut further into smaller rings.

  

This is for the Blogging Marathon hosted by Srivalli under the theme – Stuffed dishes.

 

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for other marathoners doing this BM.