Thondekai gojju | Sweet & spicy Ivygourd

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If I had to explain Thondekai Gojju in just a few words it is 1. Sweet 2. Spicy 3. Sour! When I hear all these three words together, signals shoot to my brain and make my mouth water! 🙂 Even the simplest of dishes can satisfy your tastebuds when the balance of flavours is just right!

That’s exactly what thondekai gojju is all about! Sweet from the jaggery, spicy from green chillies and red onions, sour from the tamarind and a natural smokiness from a good old ‘oggarane’ (tadka/hot oil seasoning)!

This ivy gourd recipe is perfect when you have Ivy gourd that have ripened and don’t know what to do with them! Instead of throwing them away, prepare this thondekai gojju!

Ingredients needed to make Thondekai gojju

All these ingredients are found in Indian grocery stores. A few of them can also be found in Asian stores.

Thondekai/Tindora/Ivy Gourd

Ivy gourd is a tropical vegetable. In North America, Ivy gourd is available at Indian grocery stores and sometimes at Asian groceries too. Thondekai gojju can be prepared using Ivy Gourds that have ripened too.

Tip: If Ivy Gourd is hard to find, the dish can be prepared using roasted/charred eggplant/brinjal/aubergine. Select a bigger variety of eggplant. Roast directly over a flame until completely charred and the insides are cooked. Alternatively, cut eggplant in half, apply oil and place cut side down on a baking sheet and bake/broil until cooked and charred. Scoop the cooked meat from the eggplant and prepare gojju using the same method as mentioned in the recipe.

Tamarind

Tamarind is a tropical fruit that is used as a souring agent in various cultures. Tamarind is dried and sold in blocks, which is what I use in my recipes. Tamarind paste/tamarind concentrate can also be used in place of dry tamarind.

Jaggery

Jaggery is an unrefined Indian sugar. It has a caramel like, molasses flavour. Available in blocks or powdered. I like to buy jaggery powder as it saves me the job of powdering it 🙂 Palm sugar or any other unrefined sugar with a molasses flavour can be a good substitute.

Onion

For the best taste use red onions or pearl onions. If using shallots, reduce the quantity used. Yellow and white onions can be used too but red onion tastes the best here.

Green chillies

I use Indian/Thai green chillies in thondekai gojju. Feel free to use jalapenos/serranos.

Mustard seeds

Southern Indian recipes use black mustard seeds in tadka/hot oil seasoning. If that’s really hard to find, you can skip them and use cumin seeds or even try using yellow mustard seeds.

Cumin seeds

Cumin seeds can easily be found in spice racks at any store.

Dry red chillies

Using any variety of dry red chilli should work fine. It adds a smoky flavour to tondekai gojju.

Curry leaves

Fresh curry leaves are aromatic and are used for flavour in many Indian recipes, especially in Southern India. Feel free to skip if they are hard to find.

How is thondekai gojju eaten?

Thondekai gojju is served at room temperature. It is generally eaten with rice. The meal would also consist of other sides like a palya or a gravy dish like majjige huli.

If thondekai gojju is the only dish being served, accompany it with some plain yogurt on the side.

Try these other simple Havyaka recipes!

• Tambuli
• Saasive
• Mosaru gojju
• Palya
• Majjige huli
• Others