India is the land of curries. There are thousands of curries
and various adaptations of the same curry. Each region and each family have
their own version. It might be surprising to know you wouldn’t catch a cook in
India using Madras curry powder. It simply doesn’t exist in India. What we have
are masala powders, similar to curry powder, each designed for a different
curry. Masala powders can be a combination of roasted or unroasted spices
depending on the curry one is making. It can also be a freshly ground spice
paste.
Coconut paste, freshly grated coconut and coconut milk are
commonly added in Southern curries. They are much lighter.
Not all curries are full of sauce. We do have a lot of dry
curries too.
Ivy gourd is a thin vegetable that is about three inches
long and looks like a cucumber. It has tough skin and is always cooked. When it
is very tender it can be eaten raw. The striped green and white skin makes it a
beautiful vegetable that will tempt even a picky eater. There are various ways
to cook this vegetable. It can be stir-fried, added in curries or rice and
stuffed.
Today’s recipe is for stuffed Ivy gourd. We’re using a basic
stuffing mix that is popularly used to make stuffed eggplants. Therefore, you
can substitute small Asian purple eggplants for the ivy gourd. In this recipe you
can choose to make a very dry curry or can have a bit of gravy, but don’t turn
it into a gravy laden curry. It will not taste good.
Enjoy this curry with plain steamed rice or flatbread.
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| Dry roast and grind stuffing ingredients to a paste |
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| Stuffing mix is ready. Slit vegetable as shown. |
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| Stuff ivy gourd with masala. |
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| Heat oil. Add gourd and fry for 3 minutes. Add onions. |
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| Add left over stuffing masala and some water. Mix well. Cook for few minutes. |
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| The curry is ready. |
Ingredients:
For the curry:
- Ivy gourd ½ lb
- Chopped Onions ¼ cup
- Tamarind paste 1 to 2 tbsps(depends on how sour your paste is)
- Salt to taste
- Oil 4 tbsps
For Stuffing:
- Channa dal 1 tbsp
- Urad dal 1 tbsp
- Coconut powder 1 tbsp
- Peanuts 1 tbsp
- Coriander seeds ½ tbsp
- Dried red chilis 2 or to taste
- Ginger paste ½ tsp
- Garlic paste ½ tsp
Wash and wipe dry the Ivy gourd. Slit each vertically into
four keeping the stem side intact.
Prepare the stuffing.
Heat a pan on medium heat. Leaving the ginger and garlic
paste out dry roast each ingredient for the stuffing separately. Do not burn them.
Let them cool.
Grind all the stuffing ingredients along with just enough
water to make a thick paste. Add salt and the tamarind paste. Mix well.
Stuff each Ivy gourd with a little stuffing mix. Do not
overstuff them.
Heat oil in a pan. The pan should be large enough to hold
the gourds in one layer. Add the gourds to the oil and fry for three minutes.
Now add the onions and continue to fry until the gourd’s skin changes color.
You can stop cooking at this point if you prefer dry curry. Otherwise, mix ¼ cup
of water to the left-over stuffing mix and add it into the pan. Mix well and cook
until the liquid evaporates and the masala coats the vegetable.
Ivy gourd masal is ready.
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