thondekai palya recipe | dondakaya fry | kovakkai fry | tindora fry with detailed photo and video recipe. a simple and easy stir fry recipe made with ivy gourd or also known as tindora. there are many recipes derived out of this veggie, but the popular recipe in the south indian stir fry variant. the recipe is an ideal side dish to the rasam rice or sambar rice recipe and can also be served with chapathi or roti for dinner.
as i mentioned earlier, there are many south indian stir fry recipes made with myriad vegetable options. as a matter of fact, the masala or the coconut spice can be used for various different vegetables. the spice mix i have used in this recipe is the mustard, red chillies and dry desiccated coconut. as you may have observed, i have almost no or very less water while grounding it. in other words, we do not want a masala paste and it has to be a dry powder so that it can be stir-fried. i personally like thondekai palya stir fry compared to any other and i like it when served with rasam rice or udupi saru and rice combination. well i assume that once you taste this recipe, even you would have one such personal favourite.
anyway, i would like to highlight some of the tips, suggestions, variations for a perfect thondekai palya or kovakkai fry. firstly, in this recipe, i have used frozen tindora which should be more than sufficient for this recipe in terms of its crunchiness and freshness. having said that if you have access to a fresh one, you should be good using it. secondly, again i have used desiccated coconut which is the most preferred one for this recipe. having said that, you should be good using the fresh one, but do not add any extra water while grounding it. lastly, because the spice mix has the coconut masala in it, the shelf life is very low for this recipe. hence i recommend to make the recipe in short batches and serve whenever you require it.
finally, i request you to check my other simple and easy curry recipes collection with this post of thondekai palya or dondakaya fry. it mainly includes recipes like thondekai palya, cabbage poriyal, suvarnagadde palya, bitter gourd stir fry, moong sprouts curry, kumbalakai palya, baingan bharta, tawa paneer, raw banana fry, jeera aloo. further, to these, i would also like to highlight my other detailed recipes collection like,
thondekai palya video recipe:
recipe card for thondekai palya recipe:
thondekai palya recipe | dondakaya fry | kovakkai fry | tindora fry
Ingredients
for masala paste:
- ¾ cup coconut, grated
- 1 tsp mustard
- 5 dried red chilli
for tempering:
- 3 tsp oil
- ¾ tsp mustard
- 1 tsp urad dal
- 1 tsp chana dal
- 1 dried red chilli
- few curry leaves
- 3 cup thondekai / tindora / ivy gourd, sliced
- ½ cup cashew / kaju, soaked
- 1 tsp jaggery
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- firstly, prepare masala by taking ¾ cup coconut, 1 tsp mustard and 5 dried red chilli.
- blend to coarse masala paste without adding any water.
- in a large kadai heat 3 tsp oil and splutter ¾ tsp mustard, 1 tsp urad dal, 1 tsp chana dal, 1 dried red chilli and few curry leaves.
- add 3 cup sliced thondekai, ½ cup cashew and stir fry for a minute.
- further add 1 tsp jaggery, ½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp salt and mix well.
- additionally add ¼ cup water, cover and cook for 10 minutes on low to medium.
- cook until tindora is cooked well yet retain its shape.
- add in the prepared masala paste and mix well.
- mix until the masala is coated well.
- finally, enjoy thondekai palya with hot steamed rice.
how to make dondakaya fry with step by step photo:
- firstly, prepare masala by taking ¾ cup coconut, 1 tsp mustard and 5 dried red chilli.
- blend to coarse masala paste without adding any water.
- in a large kadai heat 3 tsp oil and splutter ¾ tsp mustard, 1 tsp urad dal, 1 tsp chana dal, 1 dried red chilli and few curry leaves.
- add 3 cup sliced thondekai, ½ cup cashew and stir fry for a minute.
- further add 1 tsp jaggery, ½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp salt and mix well.
- additionally add ¼ cup water, cover and cook for 10 minutes on low to medium.
- cook until tindora is cooked well yet retain its shape.
- add in the prepared masala paste and mix well.
- mix until the masala is coated well.
- finally, enjoy thondekai palya with hot steamed rice.
notes:
- firstly, do not add any water to masala paste stir fry need to be dry.
- also, add cashews will enhance the flavour of palya.
- additionally, do not over cook tindora as it turns mushy.
- finally, thondekai palya can also be prepared by chopping tindora into round slices.