Ivy gourd fry

Today's blog post is about a veggie that perhaps many of you are well not so aware of. I am gonna be talking about a very underrated vegetable that is grown in almost all the seasons, mostly in the summers in tropical moderate climates and very common in the markets of Kolkata city. This vegetable is Ivy Gourd, popularly known as Kundru in Hindi and Kundri in Bengali.

Ivy Gourd

Basically, this ivy gourd plant is grown in our very own organic farm, that is taken care of by my father, he likes growing varieties of veggies, of course the genes transferred from him to me as I also like gardening and love my plants, flowering plants mainly, not the vegetable in general...yeah!! So he cultivates few easy growing, low maintenance plants in our terrace periodically, hence how I learned more about this not so very popular or likable veggie. The stem of Ivy gourd is slightly a climber, that is it grows with the support of another body. It grows easily with its seeds, doesn't even need to look after too often.

Ivy Gourd plant

The plant looks quite similar to a cucumber plant, having leaves that have five cones or pentagonal type. It bears white flowers generally the size of your fist, slowly the flower turns into the fruit say about in 3-4 days. The mature fruit is usually finger sized, green in colour, very similar to a baby cucumber.

Ivy Gourd flower

The fruit (vegetable in general) has smooth, shiny, lustrous skin which is edible with very small portions of white patches. The whole fruit is edible, it tastes a bit bitter when immature with a rawness, the matured ones though green in colour are the best time to cook and eat, the riped Kundrus turn red in colour which may not be a perfect thing to eat, however some people prefer to have the red ones too.

Okay, am not sure whether you guys like this underrated veggie or not, but these Ivy gourds are very useful in the treatment of diabetes or blood sugar levels. The fresh veggies when cooked flavours very delicious having crunchy texture. This Crispy Ivy gourd fry is an awesome accompaniment made with hot steamed rice and dal. Check out the instructions followed by a small clip of how to make Ivy gourd fry.

Ivy gourd fry

[Veg]

Author: Paromita.P

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes (approx)

Recipe Type: Fried Veggie

Course: Side dish

Cuisine: Indian/Bengali

Serves: 2

Measuring Items: 1 cup=150 ml; Teaspoon (tsp)

Ingredients:

1. Ivy Gourd (Kundru)- 10
2. Salt to taste
3. Turmeric powder- a pinch
4. Mustard oil (recommended)

Method:

How to prepare ‘Ivy gourd fry’ with step by step instructions-

1. Chop the ivy gourd into thin slices.
2. Heat oil in a pan put the slices into the warm oil.
3. Put salt, followed by turmeric powder.
4. Fry them in medium flame, stirring continuously.

Tips: Fry ivy gourd in medium to low flame, it fries very quickly, so turn off the flame and remove them from the hot oil as soon as they turn golden brown, or else it's taste will turn quite bitter.

Ivy gourd fry is a delicious, quick and simple Indian recipe served as a side dish. I simply love it when they are fried combined with plain rice and dal, the minimal ingredients in this dish and the flavor is incredibly delectable. I love the simplicity of this recipe. Join me on any of my recipe journeys from Instagram and if you try any of these recipes then tag me. I'll be happy to share your dishes on my Instagram Story tagging you. Prepare this simple and delicious Ivy Gourd Fry and buzz me with your comments/feedback on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter or Instagram. Till then enjoy cooking, serving and eating!!

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