Ivy Gourd & Onion Stir-fry
Ivy Gourd & Onion Stir-fry – also knows as Tindora Kanda nu shaak in Gujarati is simple garlicky stir fry using Ivy Gourd & Onion along with some basic spices
Growing up I personally did not like many shaaks/stir fried vegetables. I honestly lived off of spiced up potatoes (bataka nu shaak), PHULKA ROTI and GUJARATI DAL. However as I grew older, all different types of stir fried vegetables grew on me, especially spicy garlicky ones! And that likable stir fried vegetables list has this Ivy Gourd & Onion Stir-fry on top!
I had always seen my grand mother and mom making Ivy Gourd, tindora with potatoes. But after I got married and moved to the states, I fell in love with my MIL’s version of Ivy Gourd. Which is very heavy on onions and garlic as well as spicy!! I have heard from many that it is not very common to make Ivy Gourd with onions. Since many households make it with potatoes. But I guarantee you once you make it this way, you will not look back! Gujaratis are knows to add sweetness to everything. And this version of Ivy Gourd has natural subtle sweetness from the onions
One of our favorite weekend menu includes this Ivy Gourd & Onion Stir-fry (Tindora Kanda nu shaak in Gujarati) along with PHULKA ROTI, SURATI GARAM MASALA DAL, plain rice, crunchy salad and yogurt. Not only it soothes my soul, but it is actually a very well balanced meal that my whole family loves, including kids! I highly suggest you try this version of Ivy Gourd, you will fall in love with this one of kind vegetable. One tip on prepping Ivy Gourd, simply wash them, dry them, remove the top and bottom part. Then use this Vegetable Slicer to slice them. Make the process so much easier and faster!
Happy & Healthy Eating!
Ivy Gourd & Onion Stir-fry
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp Oil you can simply cut it down to 1½ tbsp if you like, might need to add splash of water later if Ivy Gourd starts to stick/burn
- 1½ tsp Mustard Seeds
- ¼ tsp Asafoetida (Hing Powder)
- 2 Medium Yellow/White Sweet Onions, sliced
- 1 tbsp Minced Garlic
- 1 tbsp Thai Green Chili & Ginger Paste
- 5 cup Ivy Gourd, sliced 5 Heaping cups
- 1¾ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Red Chili Powder
- ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
- 2 tsp Cumin Coriander Powder
- ¼ tsp Garam Masala
Instructions
- Heat oil in a wide pan. Once hot, add in mustard seeds.
- Once mustard seeds are done popping, add in asafoetida.
- Immediately add in sliced onions along with 1 tsp of salt. Mix well.
- Cover and cook on medium heat until onions are completely translucent, but not brown. Stir few times during this step.
- Once onions are translucent, add in minced garlic and ginger chili paste. Mix well.
- Add in sliced Ivy Gourd. Mix well. Cover and cook on medium heat until Ivy Gourd breaks on pressing between fingers, but not mushy. Stir few times during this step. Built up steam will turn into some water drops on the lid you use to over, add that water drops back to the stir fry every time you uncover. It will help to keep the stir fry moist and helps cooking process.
- This step can take a bit long as thick/ripe Ivy Gourd can take longer to cook versus thin and not so ripe. Cooked Ivy Gourd will change color from bright green to yellowish green and also will shrink in quantity.
- Once Ivy Gourd is cooked, add in red chili powder, turmeric powder, cumin coriander powder, garam masala and ¾ tsp of salt.
- Mix very well. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes, uncovered. Stir few times during this step.
- Once done, simply serve it with Plain Phulka Rotis. I personally like paring it with phulka, Surati Grama Masala Dal and plain rice to make a complete meal!