Ivy Gourd (or Tindora or Dondakayyi) is a tropical vine that is indigenous to Africa and Asia. It is rich in beta-carotine. It is very easy to cook. The two most common recipes that my mother liked to make were either the tindora fry or steamed tindora curry. A third alternative occasionally was to make chutney when the tindora was too ripe to make curry.
I rarely make tindora fry, so often I end up steaming the tindora and lightly sauteing with some onion and spices. Frying not only takes too much oil, but also to fry the vegetable to the right crispiness without burning requires patience. Many a time, I have seen my mother patiently standing by the stove, frequently mixing with a spatula, to preventing burning.
Here’s an alternate way to cook the tindora that does not need the constant attention and also uses less oil.
Ingredients:
2 lbs tindora
1 medium onion
1/2 tsp turmeric
1-2 tsp red chilli powder
salt to taste
olive oil
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
Rinse and trim the edges of the timdora. Halve or quarter the tindora based on thickness of the tindora and place in a baking dish. Peel and slice the onion, and add to the tindora. Generously drizzle with olive oil. Add turmeric, chilli powder and salt to taste. Gently toss the ingredients.
Bake for an hour and fifteen minutes to an hour and a half. Halfway through remove from the oven and toss and return back to the oven.
Serve warm with rice or roti.
Fly 'n Cook 
I’ve never toasted tindora, I wondered if they’d lose their crunch but yours look lovely x
LikeLike
Thanks Deena. This was the first time I roasted tindora, although I do this for okra quite often. They were crunchy and just right.
LikeLike
You roast okra? That’s brilliant! Do they taste sticky at all? X
LikeLike
Not at all. You can follow the same recipe with Okra. There are a few things that help minimize stickiness– I usually rinse and lay out the okra on paper towels to dry before I slice or chop them. I posted a couple of variations in the past:
The trick to avoid stickiness when cooking stove top is to add some lemon juice, keep it on medium high flame with minimum mixing and let all the moisture evaporate. This step especially works well if you are using frozen Okra.
You can adjust the temperature and time of roasting based on personal preference of how golden you want the Okra to be.
LikeLike
My mother would did this too! She would be standing by the stove and making sure that any vegetables don’t ever get burnt. I remember this to this day as if she were still with me. My siblings make fun of me to this day whenever I try to make something special for them (and I stand by the stove hawk-eyed). My mother was from India (and lived in Africa) and her love for food parallels yours. I don’t really know where and when she picked up her love for food – or, should I say, making it for us! I love your blog for this! It is as if I am right next to her. Please keep these blogs going, because, these keep me going … honestly. Finally i realized what it all means! Love – love, unconditional love! period. This is the true hard work. I don’t even know how to express it, but this way!
LikeLike
Thanks Mary. Glad you like my blog. All mothers are that way… and you said it: it’s all about Love and one of the ways she expressed it!
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Fly 'n Things and commented:
one of my most refreshing creations!
LikeLike
Never heard of tindora – sounds so interesting and tasty. 🙂
LikeLike
It is a very Indian vegetable. You will find it only in Asian or Indian groceries.
LikeLiked by 1 person