Tendli Sabzi – is a lovely vegan dish with a distinct flavor and texture. Thanks to Leela Hegde for sharing this simply but amazing recipe! What I love about this recipe is similar to the Baingan Raita recipe, this one also provides a base recipe which can be tweaked into multiple dishes by adding masalas or yogurt or gravy etc. This one here is a dry sabzi (meaning without curry OR gravy).
The main ingredient in the Tendli Sabzi is the Tendli (also known as Tondli, Tindora,Tindola, Thondekai etc.) or the Ivy Gourd which is a tropical vine. It is available in abundance especially during the warmer and wetter months. In India that would primarily mean summer and monsoon season. It is a popular vegetable in Indian cuisine, known for its small, elongated green fruits that resemble tiny cucumbers. Nutritionally Ivy Gourd is high in vitamin C and iron while being low on calories and fats, adding a nice punch to the balanced healthy diet.
The base recipe here is a part of my childhood. Depending on whether you slice the ivy gourd horizontal (so in small circular slices) or vertical you would get a different texture.
In my humble opinion, simple well cooked meals tend to be most satisfying specially after a long day. So even today, when I am craving for the simple rice and dal meal, this is one of the top sabzis to complete the combination.
Serving & Pairing options for Tendli Sabzi
This sabzi can be eaten with rice or roti. As this is a dry sabzi, my personal favorite combination is rice, dal, yogurt (because I like yoghurt 🙂 ) with the sabzi.
Alternative ingredients
As this is base dish, you could pep it up by adding yogurt to make a raitha like combination. Alternatively you could add a curry base to get the gravy taste. The best curry base for me has to be the coconut tomato with dried red chillies. It has a distinct spicy tangy flavour with the richness and thickness of coconut which pairs lovely with the ivy gourd (In that case I would recommend the vertical slit instead of horizontal slices).
Tendli Sabzi Storage Options
Cool it down and pack it in an airtight container before refrigerating it. It then lasts up to 5 days. In case you want to freeze it, I would recommend NOT adding the coconut to this sabzi. This would prolong the shelf life then. Shredded coconut is anyways added raw and can also be added to the individual portions when you reheat what you want to eat.
Tendli ki Sabzi(Ivy gourd)
Simple homemade vegan dish with Ivy gourd
8
servings15
minutes25
minutes80
kcalIngredients
1 kg Ivy Gourd(Tendli)
2 whole Green chillies
1 cup Grated Coconut
1 tbsp Jaggery Powder
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Urad dal
2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1.5 tbsp Salt (adjust as per taste)
3 tbsp Oil
1 Lemon
Directions
- Finely slice the ivy gourd and slit the chilli (slit lengthwise if you would like more spicy)
- Now heat the oil in a pan
- Once it is hot, add mustard, urad dal, turmeric and temper for a few seconds
- Next add the ivy gourd with chillies
- Add some water and mix all the ingredients thoroughly
- Cover and cook until the ivy gourd turns soft and light green. Normally this requires 15-20 mins
Note : From this point on you can create different dishes by adding gravy,paste,curry etc.
Here we do a simple variant. - Once the ivy gourd has turned soft, add the salt, jaggery and lime juice & mix
- Simmer for 2-3 minutes
- Finally add some grated coconut and mix.
- Sabzi is ready! Enjoy with rice OR roti
Notes
- Nutritional values are an indication based on ingredients. Actual nutrition may vary depending on certain factors
- For a healthier version, you can reduce the oil content to 2 tbsp. In that add a little more water to the ivy gourd while cooking.
Nutrition Facts
- Total number of serves: 8
- Calories: 80kcal
- Carbohydrates: 7.07g
- Protein: 1.47g
- Fat: 4g
){kind=link}