Dondakaya Pacchadi | Ivy Gourd Chutney | Andhra Pacchadi Varieties

Pacchadi is nothing but Chutney prepared out of vegetables and is served with Rice. Pacchadis are a part of an everyday Andhra meal and an Andhra Thali is incomplete without a Pacchadi variety. There are various Pachhadi varieties in Andhra and is prepared with many vegetables like Brinjal. Ladies finger, Bottle gourd, Bitter gourd, Ridge gourd, Carrot, Radish, various greens etc. I am posting a very versatile recipe which can be adapted to prepare with many vegetables mentioned in the notes.

Today I am posting a simple Dondakaya Pacchadi, aka Ivy Gourd Chutney. We prepare Dondakaya Pacchadi in two variations - one is this and the other one is a raw version where we use raw Ivygourd which tastes surprisingly delicious,which I post some other time. Ivy gourd is one of my favorite vegetable and I always end up preparing a simple Dondakaya fry most of the time which is my favorite,one can prepare Dondakaya Poriyal(kura) with Coconut or Dondakaya Ullipaya Karam which tastes delicious too. If you want to try something new you can even try the Maharasthrian style Masale Bhaat which itself is a complete meal.Now off to the recipe.

Check out other Pacchadi varieties for Rice in my blog:

• Beerakaya Pottu Pacchadi/Ridgegourd Peel Chutney
• Dosakaya(Andhra Cucumber) Pacchadi
• Chintakaya Pandumirapakaya Pacchadi | Tamarind Redchili Chutney
• Gongura Pacchadi with Green Chillies
• Gongura Pacchadi with Red Chillies
• Kobbari(Coconut) Pacchadi for Rice
• Mamidikayi-Kobbari Pacchadi/Mango-Coconut Pacchadi
• Nalleru Pacchadi | Pirandai(Adamant Creeper) Thuvaiyal
• Nellikai Pacchadi | Usirikaya Pacchadi with Red Chillies
• Radish leaves(Mullangi akula) Pacchadi
• Talimpu Gongura | Noone Gongura
• Usirikaya Pacchadi(with Green Chillies)

Dondakaya Pacchadi Recipe:

Serves 3-4 | Author: Prathibha

Prep time: 10 mins | Cooking time: 20 mins | Total time: 30 mins

Cuisine: Andhra | Category: Side dish - Pacchadi(Chutney) for Rice

Ingredients:

200 gms Ivygourd/Dondakaya (20-25 pieces)

3-4 Green chilies(or Red chilies)

2-3 Garlic pods,optional

1/2 tsp Tamarind paste

1 tsp Chana dal

1.5 tbsp Urad dal

3/4 tsp Cumin seeds

2 tsp Oil

to temper:

1 tsp Oil/Ghee

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

1 tsp Urad dal

5-6 Curry leaves

1 broken Red chili

a pinch of Asafoetida

Method:

• Wash, trim both the sides of Ivy gourd and cut them into thin roundels and keep them ready.
• In a kadai heat 1 tsp oil an add chana dal, urad dal and cumin seeds and fry until the dals turn slight red in color.
• Add green chilies(or red chilies) and garlic pods and fry until the chilies wilt.Remove the mixture into a plate and let it cool.

• Grind the roasted dals ,chilies and garlic mixture to a fine powder.
• In the same kadai heat oil and add sliced ivy gourd roundels and fry for 5-7 mins until they are 3/4 th cooked.If you are using whole tamarind add it now and cook for a minute to soften it else you can add it during grinding if you are using tamarind pulp.Let it cool.

• To the ground spice powder add the fried ivy gourd pieces and grind it in whipper mode to a coarse paste.Remove the mixture into a serving bowl.

• Heat oil(or ghee) in a small tadka pan and crackle mustard seeds and add urad dal,curry leaves, red chili and asafoetida and fry until the dal turns red in color.Add the tempering on top of the pacchadi and mix it gently and keep it covered.

Serve it with hot steamed rice,ghee and fryums.

Notes:

1. You can use red chilies instead of green chilies. You can even skip garlic if you do not like it.
2. You can follow the same process to make other pacchadi varieties like Brinjal Pacchadi, Bottle gourd Pacchadi, Ridge gourd Pacchadi, Ladies finger Pacchadi, Cabbage Pacchadi and other vegetables and greens too.

Technorati Tags: dondakaya pacchadi, ivy gourd chutney, dondakaya recipes, andhra roti pacchadlu, andhra pacchadi recipes, south indian chutney recipes, pacchadi varieties for rice, andhra recipes, tindora chutney

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MASALE BHAAT | TENDLI BHAAT | IVY GOURD RICE

I find Maharashtrian food quite similar to North Karnataka food as the ingredients and combinations are quite similar.I like to indulge in a rustic Karnataka Jolada rotti oota(meal) once in a while and I did not miss it much after coming to Mumbai, as we have some authentic Maharashtrian joints in the city. The taste here though differs a bit but still we love it.
Masale Bhaat is another traditional rice variety of Maharasthra which I have started preparing only after coming to Mumbai. I have learnt few Mahashtrian recipes from my friends and also my domestic help and modified them to suit our taste buds,this recipe is one of them.
Coming to today's recipe Masala Bhaat,I should say this rice variety is full of spices with the liberal dose of Goda masala. Goda masala is basically a Maharasthrian Garam masala which they use in many dishes. It is a very strong masala and you may not necessarily like it at the first instant. I had shared this masala with many of my family members and while a few liked it and ask me to bring it for them, some others could not stand the flavor spice flavor. At our house though it has become a favorite and I use it liberally in many recipes like misal, usal, bhaat, curries and few gravies .Now back to the recipe.
Masale Bhaat Recipe:
(Serves 2 generously)

Ingredients:
1 cup Basmati Rice
200 gms(around 20) Ivy gourds/Tendli/Dondakaya
1/3 cup fresh/frozen Green peas
8-10 Cashew nuts,split
2-3 Green chillies,slit
a sprig of Curry leaves
2-3 tbsp grated fresh Coconut
2 tbsp chopped Coriander leaves
1/4 tsp of Turmeric powder
1 tbsp Goda masala*
a pinch of Asafoetida
1 tsp Mustard seeds
juice of 1/2 Lemon
Salt to taste
2 tbsp Oil/Ghee
Method:

• Wash and soak Basmati rice in water for 10 mins and drain the excess water off.
• Cut the edges of ivy gourds and further chop them into quarters.
• Heat oil/ghee in a pressure cooker or a thick pan and crackle mustard seeds,green chillies and asafoetida.
• Add curry leaves,cashew nuts,peas and chopped ivy gourds and fry them for 3-4 mins until the ivy gourds are slightly cooked and starts changing its color.
• Add goda masala,salt and turmeric powder and fry for another minute.
• Add soaked and drained basmati rice and fry for 2 mins until the mixture is slightly dry.
• Add 2 cups(slightly less than 2 cups,say 1 3/4 cups) of water and let it come to a boil.
• Cover it with the pressure lid and cook for 1 whistle and reduce the flame for 5-7 mins and switch off the flame.
• If you are using kadai add 2 cups water and cover it and cook until the water is absorbed,say 12-15 mins.
• Once the pressure is dropped,fluff up the rice with fork add lemon juice,chopped coriander and grated fresh coconut and gently give a nice stir.

Serve it hot with onion-tomato raita or boondi raita and papad/chips.

*Goda masala is essential for masale bhaat,if you don't have replace it with 1/2 tsp Garam masala in the recipe.
Notes:

1. You can use mixed vegetables or brinjals or fresh green peas or avarekalu(hyacinth beans) instead of ivy gourds in the recipe for a variation.
2. You can add whole garam masalas in the tempering like cinnamon and cloves as I avoid using them on regular basis.
3. In Maharashtra,few add a tsp of sugar while frying the vegetables,I did not add but it is your wish to add.
4. I used a ready made goda masala for this.You can even use kala masala in the recipe.
5. For a Vegan version use oil instead of ghee in the recipe.

This spoonful of masale bhaat is for you to taste!!

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Dondakaya Ullipaya Karam | Stuffed Ivy Gourd

Stuffed vegetables are always liked by everybody at my place. The thought of biting into a soft fleshy whole vegetable with a delicious spicy mixture stuffed in it makes me hungry.
I have already posted various stuffed vegetables like Vankaya Ullipaya Karam, Stuffed Bitter gourd, Kakarakaya Ullipaya karam where the stuffing for few is almost the same and only the cooking methods slightly differ for vegetables.The stuffing of sweet and spicy mixture of onion works great for stuffed vegetables.

Dondakaya Ullipaya Karam Recipe:
(Serves 3-4)

Ingredients:
20-25 Tindora/Tendli/Dondakaya/Ivy gourd
3 large Onions,diced roughly
1/2 tsp thick Tamarind extract
1 tsp Red chili powder
a sprig of Curry leaves
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
Salt to taste
3-4 tbsp Oil

Method:

• Wash the ivy gourds and make a slit on one side lengthwise and microwave at high with 1/4 cup of water for 3-4 mins.
  
• Pulse diced onions with salt,tamarind extract and red chili powder in a whipper mode for 5 seconds a couple of times.The resultant mixture should be very chunky with onion bits here and there.This is an important step,so please don't mess up here..we want a chunky mixture not the paste.
  
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadai and crackle mustard seeds and add curry leaves and fry for 30 seconds.Add the pulsed onion mixture and fry well until the mixture is completely dry and cooked,it takes approximately 8-10 mins.Fry the mixture on medium flame and stir it in between and take care not to burn the mixture.Cool the mixture.
• Meanwhile in another wide and deep bottomed kadai heat 1 tbsp oil and add cooked and drained ivy gourds and fry for a couple of minutes.Cover it with a deep plate and pour half cup of water over it and cook the ivy gourds over medium flame for 7-8 minutes until they are cooked.Cool them.You can alternatively deep fry the ivy gourds for 2-3 minutes but I don't prefer this process for the amount of oil it consumes.It is left to your choice.
  
• Stuff the fried onion mixture in the fried ivy gourds and keep them aside.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in the same kadai(in which ivy gourds are fried) and place the ivy gourds carefully and fry over medium - high flame for 3-4 mins until the edges turn crisp and charred.
  

Serve them hot with hot steamed rice.
Notes:

1. The key taste in this stuffed ivy gourd curry is the fried onion mixture,so stuff as much onion mixture as you can.
2. The amount of oil is completely left to your choice as the addition of more makes the entire process fast,easy and tasty.I hardly used 2 tbsp oil in the entire process.
   
3. For a variation add 2-3 garlic pods while grinding the mixture,it gives a nice taste too.
4. The same stuffing can be used to make vegetables like Brinjal,Bitter gourd,Ladies finger and ridge gourd.
   

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Tindora Fry/Dondakaya Fry

I don't think that I had to post this as this is a very simple and common south Indian stir fry.Then the next question would be as to why am I posting it then?The answer is simple,this recipe is completely meant for all the newbies or bachelors or for people who are not familiar with south Indian cuisine.
On any day if I am served with just a simple fry,rasam and papad for lunch I would be more than any happy person to enjoy my meal heartily.Especially after a long holiday after eating lot of junk food I would be dying to have simple south Indian meal like this.Not only that,this kind of decent meal with a stir-fry,rasam and rice can be made under 30 minutes which is just perfect on lazy weekends or when short of time.During my school and college days,most of my lunch boxes had few breakfast items or mixed rice and pulav varieties.So during the weekends or on holidays I used to insist my mom to make just stir-fry and rasam as I thoroughly enjoy it.She used to start her cooking only around 12.30 in the noon as 1 o' clock was my usual lunch time and she used to serve everything right off from the pan,piping hot rasam and crispy stir-fry with steaming rice which is a match made in heaven for me.Why am I boasting about a simple stir-fry and rasam so much??Well if you are a south Indian you will understand why am I saying so much about simple stir fry and rasam.

Ingredients:
250 gms Tindora/Tendli/Dondakaya
2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp mustard seeds(optional)
2 tbsp oil
salt to taste
a sprig of curry leaves

Method:

• Cut tindora into thin round discs or lengthy thin strips and keep them aside.
• Heat oil in a thick bottomed kadai or non-stick pan and crackle mustard seeds and add curry leaves and let them get slightly crisp.
• Add sliced tindora and keep it in low to medium flame.Keep stirring it once in a while to let it fry until crispy.It might take 25-30 mins depends on the flame and tawa you use.
• Once it becomes crispy add required amount of salt and chili powder and mix well and fry for another couple of minutes.
• Once the fry is done do not cover it as it will loose its crunch and becomes slightly soggy.So its better to do it fresh and serve immediately rather than making it a couple of hours earlier.

Serve it hot with piping hot white rice and rasam/sambar/dal and papad.I served it with brown rice,tangy raw mango dal and papad.

Notes:

Follow the same method to make any fry with the vegetables like ladies finger, brinjal, potato, raw banana, arbi(but you need to boil it before).You need to fry them according to the cooking time required to make it.

Variations:

• I sometimes add garlic chilly powder instead of regular chilly powder which gives nice garlic flavor to the fry.You can even add slightly mashed whole garlic pods to the fry while you are frying it.
• You can even add sambar powder or goda masala instead of red chilly powder for a different flavor to the fry.
  

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