Kovakkai/ Dondakaya/ Tindora/ Ivy-gourd Masala

Kovakkai is not my favorite vegetable but somehow felt like picking it up when I saw it after a long long time (never bought it even once as hubby darling detests it) at Mustafa last week. My mom makes kovakkai fry that tastes awesomely crispy,  however, that requires a lot of patience! Hence, I decided to use onions n tomatoes with spices to make it palatable to my hubby as well as save time for myself . It did taste wonderful with Garlic Rasam.

Kovakkai Masala/ Ivy gourd Masala

 
What I Used -

Ivy gourd / Kovakkai

Kovakkai / Ivy gourd - 500 g
Onions- 2 medium/big
Tomatoes - 2 big/medium
Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 3 or 4
Turmeric powder / Haldi - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Home-made Curry powder - 1.5 tsp
Garam masala/Pav Bhaji masala - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

To Temper-

Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera / Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves  - a few (optional)

How I Made It -

• Heat oil in a deep kadai and temper with mustard and jeera. Throw in some curry leaves if you like.
• Add chopped onions and fry until light-brown.
• Add ginger-garlic paste, fry for 3 mins.
• When the raw smell goes off, add chopped tomatoes. Alternatively, you can pour juice of 1 tomato and add the other one chopped.
• Slit each kovakkai into 4 height-wise and add to the kadai.

Slit tindora / kovakkai

• Add all the spice powders - curry powder, garam masala (or pav bhaji masala or channa masala, whichever is available), turmeric, red chilli powder and salt. 
• Add 1/2 cup water and close the pan with a lid. Allow the vegetable to cook on low-medium flame for 15 minutes.
• Mix them together so that the spices get incorporated with kovakkai giving it a better taste.
• You can either serve at this stage like a gravy or add 2 tsp of oil and let it get a bit crispy and dry after another 30 minutes.

As you might have guessed, I took the easy, first route . Garnish with coriander leaves.  Serve with Rice or Roti varieties.

Sending this to "Subzis for Rotis" event hosted by Tickling Palates