Dondakaya ulli karam or Ivy gourd curry, is a spicy Andhra style curry. This curry is the best accompaniment for rice.
Dondakaya or ivy gourd is a very humble and tummy-friendly vegetable. But still, many do not like it. This is a straightforward and quick recipe with appetizing flavours.
Dondakaya ulli karam is stir-fried with onion and spices. The spice masala gives a spicy flavour to the bland vegetables. Serve this curry with rice or roti. It is the dry version of the curry, if you like to make gravy curry add a little water to serve with roti.
Stuffing in the dondakayalu is very difficult and the stuffing would come out as we keep stirring. And the Ivy gourd also won’t absorb the taste. So I would always prefer to add the masala once the vegetable cooked well.
While selecting dondakayalu make sure to choose only small and tender ones. So that they fry fast. And we need not stuff them instead just add the spice paste and cook till the vegetables absorb the spices. Even people who don’t like to have this veggie will love to eat it.
Dondakaya Ulli Karam Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 grms Dondakayalu / Ivy gourd
- 1 Onion
- Salt to Taste
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 1 tbsp Urad Dal
- 1 tsp Coriander Seeds
- 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1 tbsp Tamarind
- 5 or 7 Red Chillis
- 12 Garlic
- 1 cup Fresh Coriander
Instructions
- Slit dondakayalu into 2 parts.
- Do not cut them into pieces, just slit them.
- Chop onion.
- Heat 1/4 tsp oil in a kadai, add urad dal and fry it.
- Add chopped onion and fry till it starts changing colour.
- Add red chillis and coriander seeds also.
- Keep stirring and fry for a minute.
- Before switching off add tamarind and mix again.
- Lastly add garlic and switch off the flame.
- Keep this masala mixture to cool.
- Once the above masala cooled completely, grind it to make coarse paste.
- Add fresh coriander leaves also and grind it to make smooth masala paste.
- Keep this masala paste ready to use in the curry.
- Heat oil in a kadai, add cumin seeds and let them splutter.
- Add slit dondakayalu and shallow fry them.
- Add turmeric powder and salt. Fry them till they are soft.
- Add the above made masala paste and combine it well.
- Let the raw smell go off and lastly add some fresh coriander leaves.
- Serve dondakaya ulli karam with rice or roti.
Notes
- Tender ivy gourd or dondakayalu cooks faster than mature ones. So choose tender and small dondakayalu to make this curry.
- We can also slice dondakayalu to make the curry, but the whole vegetable gives a nice look and texture to the dish.
- Stuffing is the choice of individuals, instead of adding the spice mixture we can always stuff and cook also. But it would take a longer time to cook.
- I always prefer to use a spatula to make curries particularly sauteed curries.
