Crisp at the edges and tender through the middle, Dondakaya Fry (Tindora Fry) is a Andhra main made with simple everyday ingredients in about 20 minutes. The recipe lays out the ingredients and each cooking step clearly, so you can adjust seasoning, texture, and serving size for your own kitchen.
Recipe Snapshot
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cook time: 10 minutes
- Total time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 3
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Andhra
Ingredients
- 250 grams tindora ((ivy gourd/ dondakayalu))
- 1 dried red chili (broken)
- 1 sprig curry leaves ((pat dry))
- ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon channa dal ((bengal gram))
- 1 teaspoon urad dal ((skinned black gram))
- 2 tablespoons Oil
- 1 to 2 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 1 pinch hing ((asafetida, optional))
- ⅛ teaspoon turmeric
- ⅓ teaspoon sea salt ((more to adjust))
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon red chili powder ((cut down for kids))
- 2 tablespoons peanuts (roasted, skinned (optional))
- ¾ tablespoon chana dal
- ¾ tablespoon urad dal
- ¾ tablespoon dried coconut (or endu kobbari)
- ¾ tablespoon sesame seeds (nuvvulu (optional))
- 1 dried red chili
- 1 small garlic (clove)
- ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds
Method
- Prep up the gourd: Rinse ivy gourd under running water and pat dry with a clean cloth. Chop off both the ends and discard. Either slice them to thin round slices or lengthwise to long slices. Or Alternately add to a food processor and pulse a few times (do not process). Check pics in the post.
- Make vepudu karam: (Omit to use coconut.) Dry roast red chili, urad dal and chana dal until golden & aromatic. Add cumin, coconut, sesame seeds and garlic. When the sesame begin to splutter, remove to a plate and cool completely. Powder this finely. Set aside. Use this only as needed and store the rest for later use.
- Temper: Heat a pan with oil. Add mustard, cumin, urad dal, chana dal, garlic, red chili and curry leaves. When the lentils turn golden, add hing.
- Make the stir fry: Add chopped dondakaya, salt and turmeric. Stir fry on a medium high heat for 3 minutes. Cover and cook on a low flame until the gourd is tender, to your liking. Keep stirring in between.
- Stir in the coconut or the vepudu karam & saute for 2 mins until aromatic. Add the red chili powder and roasted peanuts and stir fry for another 2 mins.
- Serve dondakaya fry with hot rice and ghee. It goes well as a side with rice-rasam or rice-sambar.
Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note
Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.
