Tindi Panchphoran

Tindi or Ivy gourd as it is called in English is a wonderful vegetable and its got it's own unique taste. And when its still unripe, its perfect for this dish.

In the ayurvedic texts the taste is described as pungent bitter but when cooked, its hardly bitter. Here's a recipe that brings out the wonderful flavor of tindi, combined with a few ingredients.

Here's what you need:

1 cup ivy gourd (washed, dried and chopped in slices)

Little more than a tsp of sesame seed oil

A tsp of fresh ginger finely chopped 

1/2 Tbsp of Whole Panchphoran Seeds (Methi, Jeera, Kalonji, Saunf, Rai in equal quantities).

A pinch of asofoetida (only if you feeling gassy)

Ama Spice Mix and Sendha Namak 

Corriander leaves for garnish

And here's what you do:

Heat a kadai on high flame and add oil, when the oil has heated add the panchphoran seeds; as they sizzle, add fresh ginger, mix and follow up with Ama Spice Mix after reducing the flame a little. Now Add the sliced Tindi and mix to coat.

Cover with a plate filled with water till the water starts showing a lot bubbles. Remove plate and add Sendha Namak. Mix and allow to cook on open till tindi is cooked to the right crunch (you don't want it to get mushy).

Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.

And now here's why I do what I do:

Unripe Tindi (ivy gourd) is bitter to taste and light to digest and even drying, yet it has a potency to heat up the digestive system so it is best when cooked without too many pungent or sour tasting spices. As it is pacifying for vitiated Kapha and Pitta, it is an awesome vegetable to snack on during the seasonal junction of spring. To counter its tendency of causing Vata Imbalance, its important to cook it thoroughly with balancing ingredients. This particular recipe does not use a lot of oil and salt nor any sweet and sour tasting ingredients to mask the original flavor of the Tindi so its important to cook it exactly as mentioned here. When you cook it covered with the water plate on top, you can retain the flavor as well as bring in a little softness without making it mushy and tasteless. Just make sure you do not let the water evaporate.

Adding the panchphoran seed mix and Ama Spice Mix to oil is a great way to bring in flavor to this dish without making it too pungent or sour.