October 12, 2023

Tindora Fry – Ivy Gourd Stir Fry

Tindora Fry is a homestyle stir fry using ivy gourd. It is a very simple, delicious, and nutrition rich dry sabzi. This Indian stir fry sabzi is made with very few ingredients and it makes a perfect addition for everyday meals.

It is a mildly spicy sabzi which can be liked by everyone, from kids to the elderly. Serve it with plain roti, rice, and dal for a simple and satisfying meal. Tindora fry is vegan friendly and can be made gluten free by skipping the asafoetida.

Tindora sabzi is made with minimal spices yet tastes absolutely flavorful. This is my mom’s recipe and it is so good. My mom used to make this tindora fry in a wide iron pan or kadhai. Due to the iron pan, the sabzi used to turn a bit darker but was so delicious.

My mom was adding loads of sesame seeds and some freshly shredded coconut in the tindora fry as the winter approached. I love to incorporate these flavors any time of the year though 🙂

What Is Tindora?

Tindora is known as ivy gourd in English. It is a tropical vine grown in tropical climates and commonly found in Indian states. These vines are from the squash family and look like mini cucumbers. They are easily available at most of the Indian grocery stores all year round.

There are various names for this cute vegetable. It is called “Tondali” in Marathi, “Tendli” in Hindi, “Dondakaya” in Telugu, “Kovai” in Tamil, “Tonde Kayi” in Kannada.

Tindora is very rich in dietary fiber, Vitamin A and C, and helps lower blood sugar.

Include this vegetable in your everyday meals to make some tindora kacharya, tondali rassa bhaji, bharali tondali, tondali bhat, or masale bhaat.

Look for a fresh, medium sized, and firm tindora while shopping for them. Avoid discolored, wilted, dull, and soft ones.

When you cut the tindora, the flesh should be white with small seeds. If you find any tindora with red flesh, discard them as they will taste sour and will not cook properly.

Ingredients

Tindora
Mustard seeds
Cumin seeds
Asafoetida
Turmeric powder
Red chili powder
Sesame seeds
Coconut
Cilantro
Sugar
Salt
Oil

Tindora Fry Step By Step Recipe

Prepping The Tindora

Cut both the ends of the tindora and discard them.

Slice the tindora vertically in the middle, cut each half side into 3-4 equal pieces. Finish cutting all the tindora in a similar way.

Immerse the tindora in a pot of water and rinse them thoroughly 2 times. Transfer them to a colander to discard all the water and set aside.

Making The Sabzi

In a wide pan or skillet, heat some oil on medium heat.

Add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Next, add the cumin seeds and let them splutter.

Lower the heat, add asafoetida, turmeric powder, and transfer the chopped onions.

Increase the heat to medium low and sauté the onions for 5 minutes.

Transfer the tindora, mix them well, and cover the pan with a lid for 7 minutes.

Take out the lid, mix well, and cover the pan for about 5-6 minutes.

Add some salt, red chili powder, sesame seeds, mix everything well, and cover the pan with a lid. Cook the tindora on medium heat for about 5-6 minutes.

Next, add some sugar, coconut, cilantro, mix, and cover the pan for another 5 minutes.

Take out the lid and cook the tindora fry for about 5 minutes without putting the lid back on.

Tips For Making Tindora Fry

Cut the tindora vertically into equal sized thin pieces. All the tindora pieces will cook equally and faster.
Cooking the tindora fry on medium low heat at the beginning is very important so the sabzi will taste good and cook from the inside as well.
If you want to make the tindora fry a little crispy, cook the sabzi without keeping the lid on the pan after putting in the coconut and cilantro. Keep on cooking until you will get some crispy texture.

Variations

After cutting the ends of tindora, slice them into thin circles for a crispier texture of tindora fry.
Skip adding the asafoetida to make it a gluten free recipe.
You can omit adding onions to the dish.
Sesame seeds add beautiful nutty flavors and a pop of color into the dish. You can skip adding them.
If you do not have shredded fresh or frozen coconut then you can add desiccated coconut in the dish or simply skip it.

How To Store Tindora Fry?

Tindora fry can be stored in a refrigerator for 4 days in an airtight container. Leftover sabzi can be heated in the microwave for a few minutes.

You can reheat the tindora fry in a pan for 5 minutes before serving.

How To Serve Tindora Fry?

Serve the tindora fry with some roti, dal, garlic chutney, peanut chutney, or green chili pickle.

It tastes wonderful with plain basmati rice, spinach dal, green split peas dal, black eyed peas curry, or dal makhani.

Serve some kakdi koshimbir or Indian cabbage salad, dal, roti, and rice along with tindora fry as a wholesome satisfying meal option.

DID YOU LIKE THIS RECIPE?

If you’ve tried the Tindora Fry recipe then don’t forget to rate it.

I will love to hear from you!

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