Kovakkai Thogayal Recipe for Rice – Ivy Gourd Chutney. Easy and tasty thogayal recipe made with roasted Ivy Gourd. Recipe with step by step pictures and video.
Here are tools and ingredients you can buy online for making this recipe
Heavy Duty Indian Mixie
Granite Saute Pan
Here is the video of how to make Kovakkai Thogayal for Rice – Ivy Gourd Chutney
Here is how to make Kovakkai Thogayal for Rice – Ivy Gourd Chutney
Prep the Kovakkai / Ivy Gourd
When purchasing kovakkai make sure its not very ripe. Ripe kovakkai tastes very sour. There are various folklore tales which say that ripe kovakkai is poisonous. But I have cooked it at times and I have survived to tell this story. So nothing is going to happen if you consume ripe kovakkai. But its not going to be very tasty and you might need a Gelusil or Tums later. So try avoiding the ripe ones. The ripe ones will be bright orange in colour inside. Discard those. If its light orange, its ok. You can use in the recipe.
Wash and prep the kovakkai. Remove the tops and slice each kovakkai into four.
We will be using Indian sesame oil / Nalla Ennai for making this recipe. Roast the kovakkai in a teaspoon of oil until the skin is slightly charred here and there. It will take about 7-8 minutes. Remove the roasted kovakkai to a plate. Set aside to cool.
In the same pan, add in a teaspoon of oil. Add in the cumin seeds, toor dal, urad dal, red chillies, curry leaves and tamarind. Saute on a low flame. Chillies will fluff up in a few seconds. Remove the fluffed up chillies to a plate. Continue to roast the lentils till the lentils are golden. Once the lentils are golden, remove the mixture to a plate.
In the same pan, add in a teaspoon of oil. Add in the sliced Indian shallots / sambar onions and the country garlic. If you cannot get country garlic, regular garlic can also be used. Country garlic cloves are very small and flavourful. Roast the shallots and garlic till the garlic is nice and golden.
Add in a country tomato and saute for a few minutes till the tomatoes are mushy. Add in the salt, jaggery and asafoetida. Saute for a minute. Finally add in the fresh shredded coconut and saute for a minute more. Remove the mixture and set aside to cool.
Grind everything to a paste. Grind to a coarse texture. Do not add any water while grinding the chutney / thogayal.
Tempering the Kovakkai Thogayal
Heat oil in a small kadai and add in the garlic cloves. Roast the garlic cloves till golden. Add in the mustard seeds, curry leaves and gundu chillies. Saute for a few seconds. Add the tempering to the chutney / thogayal.
Serve the kovakkai thogayal with rice. The thogayal can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Kovakkai Thogayal for Rice – Ivy Gourd Chutney
Kovakkai Thogayal Recipe for Rice – Ivy Gourd Chutney. Easy and tasty thogayal recipe made with roasted Ivy Gourd. Recipe with step by step pictures and video.
- Total Time: 30m
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
Main Ingredients for Kovakkai Thogayal
3 teaspoon Indian sesame oil (divided)
500 grams Kovakkai / Ivy Gourd
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 tablespoon toor dal
2 tablespoon urad dal
4 dried red chillies
1 sprig curry leaves
1/2 gooseberry sized tamarind
1/3 cup sliced Indian shallots
2 pods country garlic
1 tomato, diced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon jaggery
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida
1/4 cup fresh shredded coconut
Tempering Kovakkai Thogayal
2 teaspoon Indian sesame oil
10 cloves country garlic
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
3 gundu chillies
Instructions
Wash and prep the kovakkai. Remove the tops and slice each kovakkai into four.
Roast the kovakkai in a teaspoon of oil until the skin is slightly charred here and there. It will take about 7-8 minutes. Remove the roasted kovakkai to a plate. Set aside to cool.
In the same pan, add in a teaspoon of oil. Add in the cumin seeds, toor dal, urad dal, red chillies, curry leaves and tamarind. Saute on a low flame. Chillies will fluff up in a few seconds. Remove the fluffed up chillies to a plate. Continue to roast the lentils till the lentils are golden. Once the lentils are golden, remove the mixture to a plate.
In the same pan, add in a teaspoon of oil. Add in the sliced Indian shallots / sambar onions and the country garlic. Roast the shallots and garlic till the garlic is nice and golden.
Add in a country tomato and sauté for a few minutes till the tomatoes are mushy. Add in the salt, jaggery and asafoetida. Saute for a minute. Finally add in the fresh shredded coconut and sauté for a minute more. Remove the mixture and set aside to cool.
Grind everything to a paste. Grind to a coarse texture. Do not add any water while grinding the chutney / thogayal.
Tempering the Kovakkai Thogayal
Heat oil in a small kadai and add in the garlic cloves. Roast the garlic cloves till golden. Add in the mustard seeds, curry leaves and gundu chillies. Saute for a few seconds. Add the tempering to the chutney / thogayal. Serve the kovakkai thogayal with rice. The thogayal can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
- Prep Time: 10m
- Cook Time: 20m