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.

For more informationabout Tindora – check out this link.

Ingredients:

• 2 -3 cups of sliced tindora
• 2-3 tbls oil (I use sunflower oil)
• 1 tsp of mixture of mustard and cumin seeds
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of chilly powder (Use half if you don’t like hot food)
• 1 tsp of turmeric
• 1 tbls of coriander and cumin powder(often called dhana jeeru on the packets)
• 2 tsp 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.

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

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

7.  Once they feel a bit soft – add the tomato or pasata to the tindora, cover and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes.

8.  Mix the left over coriander and cumin powder with the chick pea flour.

9.  Using a small sieve, dust the mixture over the tindora and stir it in.  Cook for 2 more minutes.

10. This will help soak up a lot of the moisture from the curry.

11. Remove the curry to a serving dish and serve it hot with chappatis or parathas or puris.