IVY GUARD GRAVY / KOVAKKAI MASALA

Hi  All,

Here there is a take away where we use to buy sabji ,gravies very often. Once I tasted a gravy there . It was puli kuzhambu (Gravy with tamarind) which was made with ivy guard (Kovakkai) . It was awesome. Till then I was making only porial and fries with ivy guard. First time I tasted it as gravy and we all loved it.

Then I started searching ivy guard recipes in Karnataka cuisine and my neighbour gave me this recipe.Here they add ground peanuts, sesame in many foods, likewise the gravy too made with sesame and groundnut.

Sesame and groundnut gives nice rich flavour also it adds the silky consistency to gravy.

Be careful while roasting the ingredients, make sure you don’t burn them. A little burning is enough to spoil the entire gravy, so always roast in low flame & keep an eye too.

Note:  that till date I have not found the exact recipe of what I tasted in that take away, once I got I will share you that recipe too.

 

The rich , yummy Ivy guard gravy recipe is as follows,

COOKING TIME : 30 mins.

SERVINGS : 4 members.

INGREDIENTS :

Ivy guard – ½ kg.

Onion – 1

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp.

Coriander leaves – 2 tblsp.

Tamarind – 1 gooseberry sized .

Curry leaves - a sprig.

Oil – 1 tsp.

Salt – for taste.

FOR GRINDING :

Coconut – 3 tblsp.

Peanuts – 4 tblsp.

Coriander seeds – 1 ½ tblsp.

Dry red chillies – 6 nos.

Sesame seeds – 1 tbslp.

Tomato – 2.

METHOD :

1) Soak tamarind in warm water, extract juice and discard pulp.

2) In low flame dry roast peanuts , Coriander seeds, red chillies till golden brown.

3) Along with that add sesame seeds and let it start spluttering.

4) Add tomatoes and saute till mushy, then add grated coconut and saute for a minute and remove from flame.

5) Once cooled grind them to fine paste.

6) In pan heat oil , lengthwise chopped ivyguard,salt and saute till grown.

7) When vegs shrinks a bit and fried to soft add chopped onions, curry leaves ,saute till translucent.

8) Add ground masala,tamarind juice, turmeric powder, 2 cup water, cook in medium flame for 10 mins.

9) When vegs cooked and gravy reaches required consistency, remove from flame and garnish with coriander leaves.

10)             The gravy goes very well with roti, dosa and even with rice.

 Happy Cooking!!