Description
Also known as Ivy Gourd, Tindora is a favourite ingredient for vegetarian recipes. It is primarily grown in India's southern part where it is mostly included in its local cuisines. Tindora recipes include Dondakaya Vepudu (Tindora fry), and Tindora Sabzi.
Tindora is a cross between a cucumber and a gourd, with an outer skin tougher than the former and has more seeds inside. It has a crunchy, juicy texture with a mild and slightly bitter flavour, and can be eaten raw, pickled, fried, or steamed and taste great as a garnish.
There are many health benefits to eating tindora, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, great for treating and preventing various health conditions. Its fruit, leaves, and even roots are commonly used as an ingredient for medicine. A couple of other things that you can benefit from including tindora in your body are lower blood sugar level, prevents obesity, eliminates long-lasting fatigue, protects the nervous system and provides more energy and a healthy metabolism. Diabetes, Gonorrhea, and Constitution are some of the illnesses known to help treat or prevent.
Recipe
30-minute Tindora Curry with Corn
- 450 g tindora
- 285 g cooked sweetcorn I used tinned but fresh or frozen are fine too
- 2 large fresh tomatoes, diced
- 1 tsp tomato purée
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
- 50 ml any cooking oil
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tbsp chickpea flour (besan)
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground fennel seeds
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin & coriander seeds (dhana-jeeru)
- 3/4-1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tbsp unsweetened desiccated coconut (optional)
Procedure:
- Firstly, wash the tindora well in cold water. Dry them in a clean tea towel. Remove only a small amount of the ends before slicing the tindora in half lengthways and then into quarters in the same direction.
- Heat the oil in a large pan. Once hot, add the sliced tindora. Stir fry the tindora in the oil, stirring all the time until tender and very slightly golden. Don't overcook the tindora – they should retain some crunch. This will take 5-6 minutes over moderate heat. Remove the tindora from the pan using a slotted spoon and drain in a colander or plate lined with a kitchen towel. Then, set aside.
- Remove all but 1 tbsp oil from the pan. Add mustard seeds and cook until they pop and crackle. Once this "popping" subsides, turn the heat down to low and add the cumin seeds and asafoetida. Sauté briefly, about 10 seconds.
- Add the chickpea flour and sauté for a further 20 seconds. The chickpea flour will turn a few shades darker, rather like light caramel colour, and give off a nutty aroma. Immediately add the tomatoes and garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Now add the dry spices: ground cumin and coriander seeds, ground fennel seeds, chilli powder, ground turmeric, and salt. Stir well to incorporate all the dry spices. If the mixture feels very dry, you can add a splash more water to moisten and prevent the spices from burning. Be sure not to add too much water as this is a dry-style curry. Stir all the time.
- After 2 minutes, add the cooked sweet corn and stir, cooking over moderate heat for 1-2 minutes. Next, add the cooked tindora and fold the sweetcorn masala into it, so everything is well coated. Cook this for an extra 2-3 minutes to heat everything through.
- Garnish with fresh coriander and optional desiccated coconut.
- Serve hot with Rotis, phulka, paratha, or rice.
This product is not available to be shipped internationally.
