Recipes: 10 Simple 20-Minute Sabzis

I debated quite a bit before deciding to write up this recipe.

The modest, meek tindli (tendli or tindora or kundru or kovakkai or ivy gourd) is a sabzi most give a miss, although when cooked up in a crispy fashion it happens to be one of my husband's favourites.

And there is a lot to be said in favour of simple, nutritious veggie preparations (of what I call less-loved sabzis) that take hardly five minutes to put together, and 15 minutes to fry, and taste so wholesome, light and satisfying with a few hot, puffed rotis.

So come try this uncomplicated Gujarati recipe with potatoes -- Tindli Alu.

Usefully, this same recipe can be used to make Bhindi Alu (okra with potatoes), Baingan Alu (eggplant or brinjal with potatoes), French Bean Alu, Spinach Alu, Parval Alu (pointed gourd with potatoes), Black Channa Alu (small brown chickpeas with potatoes), Cauliflower Alu, Capsicum Alu, Papri Alu (broad beans with potatoes).

Tindli Alu

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• ¼ kg tindli, cut in circular thin slices
• 2 alus or potatoes, unpeeled
• 1 tbsp oil
• ½ tsp hing or asafetida
• 10 curry pattas or leaves
• 1 tsp organic haldi or turmeric, preferably freshly ground
• Salt
• Dash sugar
• 1 tsp lal mirch or red chilly powder
• 2 tsp dhania or coriander powder
• 1 tsp sambar powder or garam masala powder, optional
• 1 tsp saunth or ginger powder, optional
• 1 tsp aam choor or dried mango powder, optional

Method

• Chop the alu, with the skin on into small 1 cm pieces.
  Keep aside.
• Heat the oil in a kadhai or frying pan over medium heat.
  Add the hing, curry pattas, haldi.
  Fry for a few seconds and add the chopped alu.
  Cook over low heat for at least 10 minutes till the alu is ¾ cooked.
  Then add the salt, sugar, tindli slices.
  Cook about 5-8 minutes till the tindli is cooked ie edible, but still retains its crunch -- take care not to overcook.
  Add in the powdered spices and mix.
• Serve with hot chappatis and, if you have on hand, a Mixed Dal or a Dal Fry.

Zelda's Note: I prefer to season the tindli with a little extra hing and just dhania powder, and not any of the other powders.

But if you are using this recipe to make Baingan Alu or Channa Alu, you might consider adding more powders and a little chopped onion while frying the potatoes. Aam choor and saunth, plus onions, lends itself to Bhindi Alu, but no garam masala needed please.
Cauliflower Alu could do well with a dash of garam masala, nothing more, apart from dhania powder.
Spinach Alu needs minimum seasoning although sugar helps nullify the astringent quotient.
Capsicum Alu and Parval Alu requires a little chopped onion and not much else apart from dhania powder.
Baingan Alu could use mustard oil instead of regular vegetable oil.

Keeping the peels on the alus -- it adds a nice dimension. And is healthy.

Adding the sugar keeps the vegetable green.

Freshly-ground turmeric or haldi ups the taste quite a bit and choosing organic haldi is important because a lot of haldi powders have arsenic as an impurity.

For a fancier version of Tindli Alu, you might want to separately deep fry the tindli and then add to the potatoes. Similarly for bhindi and baingan.

Please resist the urge to over-complicate these recipes by adding garlic, too much onion, too much masala powders, whole garam masala, extra oil and more. Don't overdo the spices and seasoning. And kill the vegetable. Its simplicity brings on the taste.

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