Kovakkai(Tindora/Ivy Gourd) Pickle/Salad

Have you seen this small green colored, baby cucumber kind of vegetable before? If you haven't then when you get a chance to go to your nearest Asian Indian store check it out. I love the crunchiness of this vegetable and tastes great in stir fry and also as a salad/pickle. I am calling this as pickle because I added little bit more of red chili pepper and added coarsely ground fenugreek seeds. Which is normally done for a pickle. This not alone tastes great but Tindora is a very low GI vegetable and in alternate medicine the Doctors in fact recommend to include this vegetable more in the meals to lower diabetes.  So there is no reason not to try this and do let me know if you did.



Preparation Time - 15 Minutes

Cooking Time - 2 to 3 Minutes

Serves - 2 to 3





Ingredients



Finely chopped Tindora pieces - 3 Cups (Edges trimmed, washed and finely chopped)

Salt - 1 Tsp or to taste

Red chili pepper - 1 Tsp or to taste

Lemon juice - 1 Tbsp or to taste

Fenugreek seeds - 1 Tsp (Dry roast till slightly brown and grind it to a coarse powder)

Asafoetida powder - pinch (if you are gluten free, do not use this)

Turmeric powder - 1/2 Tsp



Sesame Oil - 1 Tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 Tsp



Method



1) Combine the tindora pieces, salt, red chili powder, fenugreek powder, tumeric powder, asaofetida powder and set it aside.



2) Now heat a small pan and add the sesame oil. Once the oil is warm, add the mustard seeds. After the mustard seeds stop spluttering, transfer the tempering to the tindora and spice mix. Add the lemon juice and combine thoroughly.  Enjoy!!



Notes - You can prepare this and leave this for an hour or two for the spices and flavors to be well absorbed by the vegetable. If keeping more than a day, refrigerate.

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