Tondekai Huli menasina kodilu, Ivygourd curry

Huli menasina kodilu is a Havyaka side dish served over rice. Havyaka cuisine is known for simple yet flavourful recipes. Huli menasina kodilu is one such curry recipe from the Havyaka community that is easy to make, needs only a few ingredients but Oh so delicious! It tastes so good thanks to the balance of flavours. It has heat from the chillies, a hint of tartness from tamarind and sweetness from jaggery and fresh coconut.

If you like coconut and garlic you need to give this dish a try! Am certain you will like it! Huli menasina kodilu is served with rice but it also tastes great with neeru dose, cucumber dose.

A short language lesson

Tondekai – Ivy gourd which is also called Kundru, Tindora, Dondakaya, Kovakkai, Manoli in various Indian languages.

Huli – Huli in Kannada means ‘sour’. In Havyaka language, huli also refers to Tamarind.

Menasu – Menasu, in Kannada means chillies.

Kodilu (Havyaka language) – A type of curry

What makes Huli menasina kodilu special?

• Minimal ingredients needed.
• No roasting of spices.
• Quick
• Easy.
• Naturally vegan.
• Tastes ah-mazing!

Ingredients to make Tondekai Huli Menasina Kodilu

All the ingredients can be found at Indian grocery stores.

• Tondekai/Ivy gourd – Wash and trim the edges. Tondekai is smashed to make the kodilu, not chopped. A pestle or end of knife can be used to smash it. You ask why its smashed and not chopped? I am unable to figure it out myself! 😀 My guess is someone was short of time or too lazy to chop, tried to smash it instead and figured out that it works! 🙂
• Turmeric – You have got to have turmeric in Indian cooking!
• Jaggery – A type of unrefined Indian sugar. Optional but used traditionally.
• Fresh coconut – Used to thicken the curry. Use freshly grated or frozen coconut. Havyaka community hails from South Canara and North Canara regions of Karnataka. As coconuts grow abundantly in these regions, coconuts are an integral part of the Havyaka cuisine.
• Whole dry red chillies – Preferably Byadgi variety found in Indian stores. Byadgi is less spicy compared to other chillies. Kashmiri dry red chilli would work too.
• Dry Tamarind – Tamarind paste would work too.
• Oil, Garlic, mustard, curry leaves – For hot oil tempering. Coconut oil is used traditionally in Havyaka cooking.

How to serve huli menasina kodilu.

Huli menasina kodilu is served with rice but it also tastes great with neeru dose, cucumber dose.

Check out other simple Havyaka staples like Tambuli, Majjige huli

Tondekai huli menasina kodilu

Shwetha

A delicious Havyaka coconut curry that is served over rice. Naturally vegan.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Havyaka, Indian, mangalore

Servings 3 people

Equipment

• Blender

Ingredients

  

To cook together

• 4 cups Ivy gourd/tondekai crushed
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp salt or to taste
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp jaggery

To grind to a paste

• 1 cup fresh/frozen grated coconut not dry desiccated
• 4 dry red chillies preferably byadgi variety. Adjust chillies to suit your taste
• tamarind gooseberry size
• water as needed to blend

For oggarane/tadka/hot oil tempering

• 2 tsp oil preferably coconut oil
• 5 cloves garlic sliced
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• 1 dry red chilli broken
• curry leaves a few

Optional to pour over the kodilu/curry

• 1 tsp coconut oil
• curry leaves a few

Instructions

 

• Crush tondekai using a pestle or back of a knife.
  

Cook tondekai/ivy gourd

• Add ivy gourd, water, salt, turmeric in a pot.
• Cover and cook.
• When half cooked, add the jaggery.
• Continue cooking until fork tender and turn off the heat.

Make coconut paste

• Defrost coconut if using frozen. If coconut is not at room temperature, it curdles on blending.
• In a blender/mixer add coconut, dry red chillies, tamarind, enough water and blend to a smooth paste.

Make kodilu/curry

• Add coconut paste into the cooked vegetable.
• Mix and add ¼-½ cup water if you find it necessary.
• Set pot on medium heat and bring to a boil stirring occasionally. Do not boil on high heat as coconut tends to separate.
• Taste and adjust salt.
• Simmer for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat.

Oggarane, tadka, hot oil tempering

• Heat two tsp oil in a small pan.
• Add garlic.
• When garlic starts to brown, add the mustard seeds.
• When mustard splutters, add curry leaves and pour the hot oil over the curry.

Optional step

• Add a few more curry leaves into the curry.
• Top it with one tsp of raw coconut oil.

Video

Notes

This curry is generally made using Ivy Gourd or Mangalore cucumber(Malabar cucumber), Dosakai. Zucchini could be used if traditional vegetables are hard to find.

Refrigerate leftovers. 

Instead of dry tamarind, use a tsp of tamarind paste. 

Keyword ivygourd recipe, tondekai recipe

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