Tendle talasani | Konkani ivy gourd stir fry

This recipe is from the Konkani cuisine in Southern India. Tendle is the Konkani word for ivy gourd and talasani means to stir fry in oil. Really quick and easy to make for a satisfying side dish with lunch or dinner. This is also one of Yogesh's favourite vegetable dishes - it is a dish he grew up with. So if we do manage to get ivy gourd at the Indian supermarket - we do make a point to save some for some tendle talasani!

Ingredients
Serves 2

15 ivy gourd

4-5 whole red (Kashmiri) chillies broken into pieces 

6 garlic cloves lightly crushed 

Vegetable oil as required

Salt to taste 

Method

Time - 20 minutes

• First, wash the ivy gourd and trim and discard the ends. Lightly crush with a rolling pin or in a pestle and mortar to just break them. You don’t want them to be mushy.
  
  
• Put the ivy gourd in a bowl and add a little salt. Mix well and set aside for 10 minutes. 
  
  
• In a frying pan on medium heat, add a good glug of vegetable oil. You need to be generous with the oil otherwise the tendle won't cook well and there won't be any flavour to the dish. 
  
  
• Add the garlic and sauté until the garlic is golden and soft. Next, add the chillies and fry for a further minute. 
  
  
• Add the ivy gourd and mix well.  Fry for a few minutes uncovered so the ivy gourd develops some colour.
  
  
• Cover the frying pan with a lid and cook until the ivy gourd is just soft, stirring from time to time.
  
  
• Serve the tendle talasani as a side dish to rice-based dishes and dal. 

Recipe notes 

• It is is nice if the tendle / ivy gourd still has some bite to it - so don't cook it until it is completely soft!
• Lightly crushing the tendle with the rolling pin is essential in order to help the ivy gourd cook evenly.