Ash Gourd Raita

Ingredients: 

• Ash gourd- a quarter piece (about the size of your palm)
• Coconut paste mix- 3-4 tbsp
• Salt- 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder- 1/8 tsp
• Green chilies- 1 finely chopped (optional)
• Yogurt- 1 cup
• Water- 1/2 - 3/4 cup

For Tempering:

• Oil- 1 tbsp
• Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp (Jeera)
• Fenugreek seeds- 1/8 tsp (Methi)
• Asafoetida- 1/8 tsp
• Dry red chilies- 2 broken into pieces

Method:

1. Wash and peel the skin of the ash gourd piece. The skin will be hard, so remove carefully.
2. Remove the seeds, if any and cut into 1/2 inch pieces.
3. Boil in water till tender. It will take about 10-15 minutes. 
4. After 8 minutes or so add salt, turmeric powder and the Coconut paste mix.
5. Let it boil for another 10 minutes. 
6. Do not throw away the remaining water after boiling.
7. Let it cool down. Meanwhile beat yogurt with a spoon or fork into a smooth paste.
8. Heat oil in a small pan and prepare tempering. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, dry red chilies and asafoetida.
9. Turn off the heat as the mustard starts to splatter.
10. Let it sit for a minute.
11. In the meantime, add yogurt to to the ash gourd and mix well.
12. Now add the tempering.
13. Mix well and let it sit for 10 minutes.
14. Serve with rice, roti.

Notes:

1. The ash gourd can be boiled in advance (on the same day) and added to the yogurt later on before lunch or dinner.
2. It can be stored in the refrigerator for dinner if you have prepared it for lunch,
3. Do not keep it for the next day as the yogurt will turn sour and start to ferment.
4. The Coconut paste mix can be prepared in a batches and stored in air tight container in the refrigerator. 
5. Adding green chilies is optional as the coconut paste has ground chilies in it. Add the chilies to the tempering immediately after turning off the heat.