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Thursday, April 5, 2012

Kovakkai (Gherkins) Curry


          I haven't had this vegetable that much before marriage, and afterwards also, didn't cook it much. Only after coming here, and when the choice of Indian vegetables became less, I started buying these mini cucumbers ( yep, that's how they describe them, but definitely I can't eat them raw). Even now, I make only a couple of dishes with these gherkins ( they are also known as tindora), this fry being one of them..

Need To Have
  • Kovakkai - 2 cups (liquid measure) sliced
  • Onion - 1 big chopped
  • Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
  • Chilli Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
  • Sambar Powder - 1 teaspoon
  • Mustard Seeds - 1 teaspoon
  • Urad Dal - 1 tablespoon
  • Asafoetida - 1/2 teaspoon
  • Curry Leaves - 1 sprig

Method
          Heat oil, add the mustard seeds and the urad dal, when the spluttering stops, add the asafoetida, curry leaves and the chopped onions. Saute the onions till they turn transparent, then add the kovakkai, turmeric powder and salt, cover and cook till tender. Remove the lid, add the sambar and chilli powder, mix, if needed add a little more oil and keep cooking on reduced heat till they shrink and start turning a little brown here and there. It goes well with both rice and rotis.

Sending it to Food Corner for the Midweek Fiesta event and
                to Zesty Palette for Priya's Healthy Diet - Vegetarian Side Dishes event.

Note
If you don't have sambar powder, increase the chilli powder to 3/4th teaspoon and add 1 teaspoon of coriander powder with it.
Can also add some chopped tomatoes at the very end, cover and cook for a couple of mins.

31 comments:

  1. nice looking subzi. Mouthwatering dish

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  2. I love this very much Hema. Makes me feel very hungry.

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  3. This is one of my favorite..you have made it perfectly yum

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  4. On of my favorite curry,looks so tempting.

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  5. This looks nice and spicy and you have presented it beautifully :)

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  6. we love this & make it in a similar way.. we do it even with ground powder too.. Didn't know they were called gherkins :)

    Ongoing Event : WTML

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  7. wow! never knew kovakais were gerkins! thanks for the info! i always used to think gherkins were some kind of exotic veggie...hahha....lovely recipe hema!

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  8. wow super and interesting recipe awesome..perfectly done

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  9. i didn't know kovakka was gerkins or tindora.. bit of information.. and love this stir fry

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  10. Kovakai is very good for health and has a crunch to it when cooked. Its one veggie that I make often.

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  11. Love this veggie in stir fry form.

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  12. This is my all time fav vegggie and i love this fry !!!! Delicious

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  13. i think this is ivygourd right.let me know.plz.luks really tasty.
    maha

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  14. Looks delicious, would be great with rice!

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  15. delicious looking curry... perfect with rotis...

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  16. is it the same as manoli? the palya looks fantastic

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  17. hi hema,just to say thank you for your sweet comments on my post “sago dessert” at sobha’s last week.
    love your blog, love gherkins very much. we dont have the fresh ones, so i buy pickles and add to my fish curry. Have a nice day

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  18. Kovakka is Gherkins...tats news to me :-D Looks delicious!!

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  19. We do it in a similar way too. Curry looks yummy and thx for linking to the event.

    Vardhini
    Event: Legumes
    Event: Side Dishes

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  20. My favourite tindora..looks delicious.yumm
    Anjana

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  21. Wat a healthy and yummy curry..love with rice..

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  22. Lovely..the curry is looking yummy and tasty...easy to prepare...nick clicks....

    Do visit my blog and enter in to the Give Away......

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  23. wow thats really yummy curry...luks delicious...

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  24. Hi Hema,
    This looks yummy. Would love to eat this with dal- chawal.

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