Name: Ridged Luffa Squash with Green Peas (Toori Mutter)
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon Toasted Cumin-Coriander Blend; 12 to 15 medium-size to large fresh curry leaves; ¼ teaspoon ground asafetida; ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric; 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems; 1 cup frozen green peas (no need to thaw); 2 fresh green Thai, cayenne, or serrano chiles, stems removed, cut in half lengthwise (do not remove the seeds); 2 tablespoons peanut or canola oil; 1 teaspoon coarse kosher or sea salt; ½ teaspoon cayenne (ground red pepper); 2 teaspoons cumin seeds; 1 teaspoon whole, 1 teaspoon ground; 1½ pounds ridged luffa squash (see box); or English cucumber, ends trimmed off, peeled, quartered lengthwise, each quarter cut into 2-inch pieces; 2 teaspoons coriander seeds, ground; 1 teaspoon white granulated sugar

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

660 Curries

By Raghavan Iyer

Published 2008

About

Jainism and Buddhism both arose in the 6th century in India, and the Jains, especially the ones who are quite orthodox, adhere to particularly strict guidelines about what they can and cannot eat. Anything that grows under the ground is taboo, as the teachings of Mahavira forbid disturbing living things under the earth. (Also taboo are meat, fish, poultry, and eggs.) This rules out garlic, onions, potatoes, and root vegetables, and hence their cooking relies on spices like asafetida (for th