Tindora pakora/ Kovakka fry/ Dondakaya pakodi fry made with Ivy gourd is a delicious fritter with crispy exterior and soft interior that can be served as evening snack along with hot chai/ coffee or served as side dish for lunch. Ivy gourd fritters is one such quick and easy to make recipe that demands very less ingredients in its making but just the preparation needs little attention as the quantity of water used plays a major role in bringing out the texture of pakora. This particular pakoras/ fry are my hubby’s favorite which he got used to eating in Andhra mess when he was a bachelor where he got used to these fry/pakora. So since the time we were in love he used to eat only Andhra food for lunch as I belong from Andhra, though he had no opinion about Andhra food before our relationship he stared eating it just because of me, just his way of expressing love. So at least once in a month I make sure to prepare at home to refresh our memories. For the below recipe both frozen and fresh tindora works best. So next time instead of a traditional poriyal/ subzi try making this fry for your lunch. So lets get to the making!
PREP TIME
COOK TIME
TOTAL TIME
SERVES
10 min
15 min
25 min
3
Ingredients
Ivy gourd/ Tindora – 20
Besan/ kadalai maavu – ½ cup
Rice flour – ¼ cup
Red chilli powder – ½ tsp
Garam masala powder – ¼ tsp
Salt – to taste
Water – 2 tbsp (approx.)
Oil – for frying
Note
* 1 cup = 235 ml
How to make Tindora pakora with step by step images
Wash and slice tindora/dondakaya just as shown above. Make sure the slices are not thin nor thick. Thin slices become very crispy and thick slices take long time to cook.
Now to the sliced tindora/ kovakkai add besan, rice flour, salt, chilli powder and garam masala powder. Mix well so that the the tindora is coated well with all the dry ingredients. Now sprinkle water little by little to get a brittle mixture just as shown in the picture. I used around 2 tbsp water. The mixture should not form a batter but crumbly masala mixture should be coated well in masala. Making this mixture is very important to get crispy pakora.
Heat oil in a frying pan. Add the each tindora piece one by one in batches to oil and fry in medium flame. Do not put all the tindora pieces at a time as it will just form one mass pakodi. When it looks crispy and evenly colored remove it using slotted spoon and transfer it to a plate with paper towel. serve it hot. Now fry the next batch and repeat the process till all the tindora mixture is over.