Tindora Fry – A simple recipe prepared using tender tindora and spices. A Perfect accompaniment for hot rice with dal.
Tindora – I love it and the first time, I tasted when I was in high school. My uncle worked in Chennai and I usually accompany him to his office during his holidays and spent time with his colleagues. They treat me as their younger sister and share their food with me during lunch hours. There were days when I spent my whole day in his office with those sisters cracking witty jokes and roaming around Chennai with them. It was then, Shanthi Akka bought kovaikai poriyal for rasam rice. I have never heard about the vegetable back in my native but on that day, I mistook the vegetable as avakkai. Since I like the avakkai pickle, I eagerly accepted her offer and on tasting, she had let me know that it was kovaikkai, called as Tindora. I searched for it in my local markets and insisted my Amma to prepare the same kind of recipe for me. But we couldn’t find the veggie in my native and later I came to know that it’s available rarely in villages and one can easily find it in Chennai supermarkets.
When I shifted to Chennai for my work, I made sure I bought it every week and prepared a variety of dishes using it. This simple fry is my favorite. I prefer kovaikai to be crunchy and half cooked. Usually, it takes time to cook completely when you fry. I always cook with lid covered until it is half cooked and then fry them without the lid. This reduces cooking time and also, long-standing hours in the kitchen. Do you know that Tindora is great for diabetes? Since then, I am preaching Amma to prepare it every week.
How to select tender ones?
- The taste of the fry/curry entirely depends on the Tindora used in it
- Select only the green colored vegetable
- Ensure not to select the one which has pale yellow colored skin
- On halving the veggie, the inside should not be reddish
- Reddish tindora doesn’t taste better than the tender tindoras
- Chop both the ends of the veggie. Cut into halves or chop them into thinly sliced round
Now, to the recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 cups Tindora, Cut into halves
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon Red Chili Powder
- ½ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- ¼ teaspoon Coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- ½ teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- ½ teaspoon Urad Dal
- A handful of curry leaves
- Salt, as required
Method:
- In a non-stick kadai, heat oil over medium flame
- Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, urad dal, and curry leaves. Allow it to sizzle
- Grind cumin seeds and coriander seeds into a fine powder
- Add tindora pieces and combine them with oil
- Now, add spice powders to the tindora and give a stir
- Cover and cook for about 10 minutes until the tindora pieces are half cooked
- Now, fry until the liquid is completely absorbed and tindora is fried well
- Ensure not to overcook as it will become soggy
- I prefer tindora to be crunchy
- Serve with hot rice and dal
If you try the recipe (which I highly recommend personally), do let me know how they tasted in comments. If you like space, do like and follow my profile at here – Facebook, Google, Instagram
Thanks,
Karthi
