Crunchy tindora masala

Tindora is known as ivy gourd in English. It is also known as baby watermelon, little gourd or gentleman's toes. In India they are known by different names in different states. Tondli in Marathi, tendli in Konkani, Kovakkai in Tamil, dondakaya in Telugu, tondekayi in Kannada! No doubt, its very widely used in Indian cuisine.

This regulates blood sugar levels and hence recommended for diabetic patients. Ivy gourd is rich in beta-carotene.

Tindora is very easy to cook as they are very tender and comes out very crunchy, tasty and comforting. I love this vegetable. My husband had an aversion to this vegetable (for some crazy reasons!) but now he has begun to like it after tasting this dish.  

Ingredients

I medium sized onion, 1 big tomato

1 ts mustard seed, ¼ ts hing, Few curry leaves

1 ts peanut butter

4-5 garlic pods

¼ ts turmeric powder, ¾ ts chilli powder, 1 ts coriander powder, ¾ ts cumin powder, ½ ts garam masala

Preparation.

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seed.
2. After it splutters add onion. Fry for 2-3 minutes until translucent.
3. Then add hing, curry leaf and finely chopped garlic. Saute for a while.
4. Add turmeric powder. Adding turmeric powder directly into the oil before adding tomatoes gives a nice colour to the dish.
5. Next add the crunchy peanut butter.
6. Add tomato, chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and mix everything. Keep in medium flame and wait until tomato is completely cooked (the color of the tomato changes from red to dark) and oil oozes out. Adding salt with tomato helps in cooking tomato faster.
7. Now add garam masala. Always add garam masala in the final stage of the preparation.
8. Add the cut tindora pieces and mix well until tindora gets coated with the masala. Cover with a lid and simmer for 5 min

Variation – Stuffed tindora masala

Using the same method, you can also make stuffed tindora masala.

For that make a thick masala paste of the following – ginger, garlic, chillipowder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala, and peanut butter.

Make slits on top of tindora. Stuff the masala paste into it. Keep it aside for 15 min until masala sets in well. Keep the rest of the masala for the gravy.

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard, hing, curry leaf and onion. Fry till the onions turn translucent. Add the whole peanuts/ coarsely ground cashew and fry for a while. This gives a good crunch to the dish. Add the tomato and the left over masala. Wait until tomato gets cooked completely. Now add the stuffed tindora pieces. Cover the pan and let it sit in medium flame for 5-10 min until the mixture is completely dry. Add grated coconut if desired.