Tindora or Ivy Gourd Curry (Tindora nu shak)

Tindora or Ivy Gourd curry is best made when they are freshly available. The have a lovely taste which is difficult to describe. They are crispy and look almost like mini gherkins or cucumbers. They are also quite moist like a cucumber. It’s one of those vegetables you can use for making a curry as well as an uncooked raita type pickle similar to the one I made using carrots and mangoes. In hot countries tindoras are dried and used later for making a spicy side dish.

Ingredients:

2 -3 cups of sliced tindora
2-3 tablespoons oil (I use sunflower oil)
1 teaspoon of mixture of mustard and cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of chilly powder (Use half if you don’t like hot food)
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 tablespoon of coriander and cumin powder(often called dhana jeeru on the packets)
2 teaspoons of chick pea flour( often called gram flour)
1 cup of tinned tomatoes or pasata
3-4 cloves of garlic (blend them using a garlic press)

Method:

1. Wash the tindora (ivy gourd) by soaking in water for a 10-15 minutes as they can be a bit sticky.

2. Cut the two ends of the tindora and slice them lengthwise into four . Don’t worry if one or two of them are slightly red/pink inside.

3. Heat the oil in a frying pan or something similar and add the mixture of cumin and mustard seeds.

4. Once the mustard seeds stop popping add the sliced tindora to the oil. (careful the oil doesn’t splutter).

5. Add the sail, chile, turmeric and half the coriander and cumin powder. (save half to add at the end of cooking)

6. Stir fry the vegetables and cover the vegetables and cook for 5 minutes. Tindora’s tend to remain al denta for quite a long while and you need to keep stirring and checking until they feel slightly soft.