Sesame crusted papaya Sabzi

Amma makes this dish usually with chow-chow or ridge gourd.  When I saw papaya in an Indian store here, in its all green glory, i wondered if the recipe translates to this fruit. My kids loved it! It is a bit less watery than chow-chow or ridge-gourd.

Ingredient

1 medium sized green papaya

3 tbsp sesame seeds

2 + 3 dry red chili (Chili de arbol is fine. I use Guntur Byadige)

1 tsp Mustard seeds

1 tsp Hing (asafoetida)

2 tbsp sesame oil

5-6 curry leaves

Salt to taste

Procedure

Peel, de-seed and dice the papaya into 1" cubes. Mine came out to be just under 3 cups. In a large sauce pan, boil 4 cups of water. Once boiling, stop the heat.  Let the papaya sit in this water for 3 minutes. Drain and keep aside, 

Papaya's sometimes have allergens that irritate the back of your throat. This process minimizes that itch.

Meanwhile in a sauté pan  dry roast the sesame seeds and 3 dry red chili. Remove from sauté pan onto another plate once the sesame turn pink, or start to pop. Too dark will yield and oily powder, and keeping them in the pan will continue the cooking process. Grind into coarse powder.

In a saute' pan w/ lid, heat the oil  and mustard seeds. once the start spluttering, take 2 dry chilies, break them into few piece and add them to the oil. Sauté for 15 seconds, add the Hing, stir for 15 seconds and let it bloom.  

Add the diced papaya. Slightly salt it. Close with lid and cook for 5-6 mins on medium heat. Add the sesame seed powder, curry leaves and mix well. Close lid and cook for 3 minutes. Cook on open lid for 2 minutes.  Its now ready to serve. Eat it with rice, roti  or just by itself.

Papaya alternates - Ridge gourd, Bottle gourd or Chow-Chow (Chayote Squash)