Kovakka Kichadi or Ivy Gourd in yogurt sauce

Onam Sadya has a wide list of items on the menu and one of it is Kichadi. Pavakka Kichadi and Kovakka Kichadi is equally liked by all of us. We go with making of either one of them for the sadya at home. And it is not something that appears only for onam. We make it very often esp. in summer.

My MIL always makes us some pavakka kondattam and packs it to take home after vacation. She once tried kovakka kondattam too when she had too much kovakka from her kitchen garden. We liked it too, but not as much as pavakka kondattam. So we used to fry it and make kovakka kichadi out of it. They were superb that way. And far easy rather than slicing and frying the kovakka for kichadi. So if you have kovakka kondattam in hand, try making kichadi out of it. Its an instant one but tastes so good.

If you are looking for making kichadi for the onam sadya this year then I thought sharing this recipe would be helpful if you haven't made it ever.

Ingredients

1. 15 medium sized Kovakka or Ivy gourd, thinly sliced
2. 3 green chillies, slit
3. 3/4 cup of grated coconut
4. 1/2 of mustard seeds
5. 1 1/2 cup of yogurt
6. Salt to taste
7. Oil for frying Bitter gourd

For tempering

1. 1/4 tsp of mustard seeds
2. 2-3 shallots, sliced
3. 2-3 dry red chillies
4. 1 strand of curry leaves
5. 1 1/2 tbsp of coconut oil

Method

• Heat oil in a pan. Once hot, turn it down to medium heat. Fry the sliced ivy gourd in it untill they are golden brown in colour.
• Remove the fried ivy gourd on to a plate lined with tissue paper. 
• Fry the green chillies in the same oil.
• Crush the mustard seeds in a blender to break them open. Remove it in a bowl.
• In the blender, grind the grated coconut to a paste consistency by adding couple of tbsps of drinking water. Remove it into the bowl of crushed mustard seeds.
• In the same bowl, take the fried bitter gourd, fried green chillies, yogurt and salt. Mix it all well.
• For the tempering, take the oil in a pan. Once hot, add the mustard seeds and wait for it to pop. Add the sliced shallots, curry leaves and red chillies and fry it. Pour it on top of the bitter gourd mixture. Serve it with rice.

Tips

1. You could use kovakka kondattam to make an instant kichadi. Unlike pavakka kondattam, I prefect using up the kovakka kondattam as kichadi. They taste so good and also you can cut down the effort involved in frying the ivy gourd.