Tindora Cashew Masala (Ivy gourd cooked in spicy masala and Cashews)

Tindora or Tondla or Ivy Gourd is a rather plain vegetable with no special flavor of it's own. No one in our family is particularly fond of this vegetable. My little one was really sad the other day when I told him that I was about to make that vegetable for dinner. His sadness inspired me to add some exotic flavor and ingredients to make it really appealing to everyone's taste buds. The result was amazing and this vegetable is now "second favorite on his list" :) Nothing can topple Kale with Tofu, at least for now. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients: Tindora or Tondla or Ivy gourd - 1 packet about 300 gms (I used the frozen packet from local Indian grocery store), grated coconut - 5-6 tbsp, onion - 1 medium chopped, cumin seeds - 1 tsp, fennel seeds - 1 tsp, coriander seeds - 1 tsp, Ginger/garlic crushed - 2 tsp, mustard seeds - 1 tsp,Asafoetida - 1/4th tsp, Oil - 4-5 tbsp, cashews - broken - 1 tbsp, turmeric powder - 1 tsp, red chilli powder - 1 tsp, garam masala - 1 tsp, salt - as per taste, sugar - 1 tsp, lemon juice - few drops, chilli and cilantro for garnish, 

Method: Take a pan and add cumin seeds, fennel seeds and coriander seeds and dry roast them. Set them aside. In the same pan, add 1-2 tbsp oil and fry chopped onion till it turns golden brown. Add crushed ginger/garlic (crushed - 1 tsp) and fry for a minute. Then add grated coconut and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the dry roasted seeds to this at the end and grind to a smooth pasted upon cooling. Take another pan and add 2 tbsp oil. Add mustard seeds and when they crackle, add asofoetida, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, sugar, salt, garam masala and ground masala to it. Fry for 3-4 minutes till oil leaves the masala. Then add the frozen Tindora or Ivy gourd to this.Cover and cook for 4-5 mins on medium heat. When tindora is soft, add broken cashews and cilantro. Mix well and cook for another minute or two. Tindora Cashew Masala is ready to serve! 

Well, our whole house was filled with the aroma of spices and everyone was really eager to try out the new exotic dish. I am really glad that this experiment was a huge success. The best reward was the smile on my little one's face  - priceless :)

Till my next post, take care everyone.