Tamil Style recipe for Kovakkai Fry / Poriyal with coconut. Tindora Ivy Gourd Dondakaya Vepudu.
Kovakkai or Ivy gourd / tindora grows in a vine. It grows like a wild fire. It can grow 3-4 inches a day. Don’t believe me? Try planting one today. When purchasing kovakkai make sure its not very ripe. Ripe kovakkai tastes very sour. There are various folklore tales which say that ripe kovakkai is poisonous. But I have cooked it at times and I have survived to tell this story. So nothing is going to happen if you consume ripe kovakkai. But its not going to be very tasty and you might need a Gelusil or Tums later. So try avoiding the ripe ones. When picking Ivy gourd in the market, pick the ones that are dark green and very firm. They are the young ones. The pale green ones are the ripe ones. The seeds become red inside when ripe. Discard the ripe ones.
Here is how to do a simple and tasty kovakkai fry. Its one of my favorites.
Heat oil in a pan until hot. Add in the mustard seeds, urad dal and dried red chillies. Fry until the seeds splutter and the urad dal turns golden. Add in the finely chopped onions and curry leaves. Fry till the onions are soft and starting to brown.
Add in the chopped kovakkai to the pan. Add in the salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder.
Add about half a cup of water. Around 100-125 ml. Fry the kovakkai on low flame for a good 30-40 minutes. Keep sauteing every 5 minutes to avoid scorching at the bottom. The more you fry, the more brown and yummy its gonna get. Once its nicely cooked and fried and brown around the edges, finally add the shredded coconut and saute for a couple of minutes more.
Remove off heat and serve.
Kovakkai Fry
Tamil Style recipe for Kovakkai Fry / Poriyal with coconut. Tindora Ivy Gourd Dondakaya Vepudu.
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon refined sunflower / vegetable oil
- 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon urad dal
- 2 dried red chillies
- 2 medium onions
- 2 sprigs curry leaves
- 500 grams kovakkai – tindora
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 125 ml water
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan until hot. Add in the mustard seeds, urad dal and dried red chillies. Fry until the seeds splutter and the urad dal turns golden. Add in the finely chopped onions and curry leaves. Fry till the onions are soft and starting to brown.
- Add in the chopped kovakkai to the pan. Add in the salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder.
- Add about half a cup of water. Around 100-125 ml. Fry the kovakkai on low flame for a good 30-40 minutes. Keep sauteing every 5 minutes to avoid scorching at the bottom. Once its nicely cooked and fried, finally add the shredded coconut and saute for a couple of minutes more.
- Remove off heat and serve.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: South Indian
Very tasty – kovakkai
Thank you!
As kids we used to harvest ripe kovakkai near our play area and we taste it. We are alive 😂😂
Like your recipes and the crisp . Thanks
Hi kannamma.. I have 2 reasons to be thankful for this recipe.. First, I discovered your website by a stroke of good luck while searching for a good kovakkai recipe.. the second and better one.. my father tasted it and told me that I make kovakkai better than my mother in law 😀 all thanks to you. Do keep up d good work.
Thank you so much! so happy 🙂
Hello mam,
I am a bachelor staying away from my family and working in a power station. I have been reading your receipes and tried a few and was successful . I didn’t knew that I can cook this good. All thanks to your receipes. And this has also made me question myself if I should get married as I can cook my own food 😛