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| Amma's recipe! |
What do you mean by a baby watermelon ?
.
.
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Answer: Watermelon's baby - the li'l one ?
....Put your hands down and don't try to be too smart because you just proved it you are not !
..(heheee...Just kidding !
) ...Actually,I would've answered so ...whatever,the right answer is - it is an "Ivy Gourd "!!
The Ivy Gourd ,though small has a long list of cute ,funny and interesting names ; gentleman’s toes, little gourd,little cucumber,Thai spinach,Scarlet Gourd,Tindora ,Kundru,Kovakka,Kovai,Dondakaya,Tondli etc etc and botanical names like Coccinia indica, Coccinia cordifolia, or Coccinia grandis.
Not only its names are interesting,so are their health benefits : right from its roots,to stems to leaves to the fruit !
Did you know ?
- Many research done worldwide suggests that ivy gourd acts like a natural insulin in our body and thereby helps in maintaining healthy blood sugar .Even the juice of the roots and leaves can help in treating Diabetes.According to a three month research at the Institute of Population Health and Clinical Research in Bangalore, India showed blood sugar level in new diabetics who consumed ivy gourd dropped by 16%.The findings were reported in the international journal Diabetes Care. (Credit:Undergroundhealthreporter.com)
- The stems of Ivy Gourd can be dripped into eyes to treat cataracts.
- Topical application of leaves can soothe skin irritations - psoriasis , scabies etc.
- When taken internally,it can act as a laxative,detox,or an alternative treatment to Gonorrhea ,Asthma,Leprosy,Jaundice,diarrhea,high cholesterol etc.
- It acts as a blood cleanser,nourishes pancreas,liver,kidneys.
- It has high Vitamin C and is an antioxidant.
- According to the healthbenefitstimes.com,it is not apt for the pregnant women or nursing mother and should not be taken a few weeks before any scheduled surgery.
- Altmedicine.about.com also warns that using ivy gourd in combination with anti-diabetes drugs may have harmful effects and the supplements available online may not be regulated or contaminated ones.So,watch out ,consult doctor if using it especially for any treatment !
WOW!! Who knew the little edible plant climbing onto the fence of my little house/company quarters, by itself ,when I was little or one of the vegetable, amma would try to grow it organically outdoor in her vegetable garden, to be this beneficial to our health.Kudos Tindu..I mean Tindora !! In US,it is an exotic vine and vegetable which is available in Indian stores exclusively.
Reminds me a Malayalam saying,"Muttathey mulekku vasana illa" / means what is available to you doesn't seem to be that important to you...
There are different kinds of Ivy Gourd recipes in every state of India .I've two today -one influenced by Kerala state and another influenced by Kerala plus Andhra state of India .I mean one by my mother and another by my mother-in-law .
My amma's cooking when it is a Kerala food,is a pakka traditional style and of course North Indian and more...she is a perfectionist and an excellent cook ,even my friends can't stop raving about .My mentor and role model !
My amma-i-amma/amma-in-law's cooking is a mix of Kerala yet laid-back sorta with an Andhra touch to it.She is also an awesome cook but not that hardcore cook like my mom .She is also my inspiration and I, in fact ,love to cook with her than my mother as my mom gives attention to the minute details in cooking .For her, Cooking is an art ! Though I second that,she becomes my biggest critic even while chopping,slicing,grinding ,any form of cooking and so, she sometimes gets on my nerves :P.So,their way of cooking differs in every way and so does their recipes .
So, here are two recipes of Ivy Gourd a.k.a Kovakka in Malayalam, cooked differently by my two ultimate inspirations which are delicious in their own way-
This is how I make Kovakka mezhukupurrati in traditional Kerala style
Kovakka Mezhukkupuratti Kerala recipe
Ingredients
Ivy Gourd/Kovakka - 250 gm
Onions,sliced - 1/2 cup
Green chilies - 2 or 3 nos.(optional)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Red chili powder - 1-2 teaspoons
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Coconut pieces,small - a few
Red chili,dry - 2-3 nos
Coconut oil - 1 tablespoon
A few curry leaves
Salt to taste
Onions,sliced - 1/2 cup
Green chilies - 2 or 3 nos.(optional)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Red chili powder - 1-2 teaspoons
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Coconut pieces,small - a few
Red chili,dry - 2-3 nos
Coconut oil - 1 tablespoon
A few curry leaves
Salt to taste
Method: Pls watch my quick video.
This is how I make dondakaya stir fry/kovakka poriyal /Kundru stir fry mom-in-law's style ;)
Kovakka stir fry |Dondakaya fry recipe|Tindora recipe
Ingredients
Ivy Gourd/Kovakka - 250 gm
Onions,sliced - 1/2 cup
Garlic cloves,big - 1-2 nos.
Green chilies - 2 or 3 nos.(optional)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Red chilli powder - 1-2 teaspoons
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Red chilli,dry - 2-3 nos
Coconut oil - 1 tablespoon
Grated coconut - 1 tablespoon(optional)
A few curry leaves
Salt to taste
Method : Pls watch this quick video :
Both my mothers are my motivation,critics and biggest influence in my cooking .Just looking at my mother's dedication, makes me to cook ! I've come to a stage where these two experts have given me a green signal,an approved certificate of being a good cook myself.(Blowing my own trumpet I know,but it was difficult initially to win over them) :D They teach me old,I teach/tell them new now.That's how we tango ;D.....I liked cooking always but now I love cooking..Cooking is my ultimate nirvana !!
Cheers to all mothers who take time to cook foods for their family and guide their daughter not to underestimate and to learn cooking...If it wasn't my mom's scolding ,guidance and inspiration to make good homely fresh foods,I, and because of me,my hubby,would have been stuck and starving here, away from my mother and motherland..all food-less (Homely foods) and sleepless in Seattle whoops USA... :p
“To call woman the weaker sex is a libel; it is man's injustice to woman. If by strength is meant brute strength, then, indeed, is woman less brute than man. If by strength is meant moral power, then woman is immeasurably man's superior. Has she not greater intuition, is she not more self-sacrificing, has she not greater powers of endurance, has she not greater courage? Without her, man could not be. If nonviolence is the law of our being, the future is with woman.
Who can make a more effective appeal to the heart than a woman?" ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Happy Birthday to dear Baapu,the Father of our nation !!
Cheers to all mothers who take time to cook foods for their family and guide their daughter not to underestimate and to learn cooking...If it wasn't my mom's scolding ,guidance and inspiration to make good homely fresh foods,I, and because of me,my hubby,would have been stuck and starving here, away from my mother and motherland..all food-less (Homely foods) and sleepless in Seattle whoops USA... :p
“To call woman the weaker sex is a libel; it is man's injustice to woman. If by strength is meant brute strength, then, indeed, is woman less brute than man. If by strength is meant moral power, then woman is immeasurably man's superior. Has she not greater intuition, is she not more self-sacrificing, has she not greater powers of endurance, has she not greater courage? Without her, man could not be. If nonviolence is the law of our being, the future is with woman.
Who can make a more effective appeal to the heart than a woman?" ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Happy Birthday to dear Baapu,the Father of our nation !!
P.S.Hope my amma and amma-in-law reads all the positive things I mentioned here about them ..wink wink...
Both are my favorite !!
...I hope this question will never be solved technically and for sure ..because let my brain have some glory people !!
...And I used it to torture my hubby for a few days straight with this eggs-cellent curry .. and when he would also say - "Help,hELP,HELP"...I would stop it finally...
