Ayurvedic Torai - Luffa or Ridge Gourd Vegetable Recipe

A delicious Ayurvedic vegetable dish with the natural sweetness of torai, the Indian ridge gourd.

How to make Torai

Wash the luffa and peel off their thin, soft skin with a knife. Cut them into slices which are about 1 centimeter thick.

Heat up the oil in a deep pan and when it is hot, add the cumin and the coriander powder. Roast these spices until they develop their aroma and then add the vegetable into the pan. Add some salt and place a lid on the pan.

Torai has a lot of water and by placing the lid on the pan and putting it on a medium heat, you make sure that they leave their water and get cooked in it. You can stir from time to time.

When the Luffa is soft, you can take off the lid. Now it is up to you how you like your vegetables. If you like them juicy, you are done already. If you would like to have them a bit more dry, just keep the pan on the heat and let the water vaporize until the dish looks the way you want it to be.

Enjoy!

Ayurvedic Values

Luffa is a light vegetable which is not heavy in the stomach and thus helps your digestive system. It is naturally a bit sweet and thus also tastes really good. Everybody who has digestion problems and wants to eat light vegetables that don’t make you feel like having a stone in the stomach, should try eating torai.

From Ayurvedic point of view, luffa increases vata and kapha but it cools down and pacifies the dosha pitta in the body.