Kovakkai Kuzhambu | Ivy Gourd Gravy For Rice

This is my second version of Kovakkai kuzhambu recipe. Long back I have shared an Ivy gourd gravy for rice which is like masala kuzhambu. After that I tried this easy, one pot Kovakkai kara kulambu (Tindora gravy for rice) yesterday for our lunch. It came out so well and flavourful. I watched few videos of Ivy gourd gravy in YouTube, made some variations and tried it. Ivy gourd is called as Tendli in Hindi, Dondakaya in Telugu, Thondekai in Kannada. 

Kovakkai is a versatile vegetable with so many health benefits. People in Andhra usually make kovakkai fry / Dondakaya vepudu, pachadi, pulusu etc whereas in Karnataka people make thondekai palya with it. In Tamil nadu we make kovakkai puli kulambu, kovakkai kara kuzhambu, masala kuzhambu and poriyal. It tastes great in all the dishes.

Check out this version of kovakkai poriyal in my blog. Soon I will try to post Andhra Dondakaya recipes and Karnataka style thondekai palya in my blog learning from my friends.

Today lets see how to make this Tamil nadu style Kovakkai kuzhambu with freshly ground masala. For variations, you can deep fry tindora pieces in oil before adding to the kuzhambu for rich taste. I just shallow fried in oil in the pressure cooker along with tempering and made in the usual way. The choice is yours. Its an easy, one pot recipe. Lets see the recipe with step by step pictures.

Check out my other interesting Kovakkai recipes below.

METHOD – STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Note

Adjust the quantity of sambar powder as per taste. You can replace sambar powder with red chilli powder The color of Kovakkai turns light green as we cook in pressure cooker. To retain the color of Kovakkai, you can saute and cook in a kadai seperately and add to the gravy at the end. For grinding masala, you can add a piece of cinnamon and cloves for more masala flavor.

Try this for lunch and enjoy !