Tinda Sabzi

I got a packet of frozen tinda, from the Indian store. The packet says "punjabi Tinda", which is also a Indian baby pumpkin. Then i looked up the web and wikipedia says -

Tinda,also called Indian round gourd or apple gourd, is an annual vine grown for its immature fruit, a vegetable especially popular in South Asia.

This vegetable is cooked in different ways in India, especially in the northern part of India. I heard about this vegetable from a close friend in school and was on the look out for this vegetable. Though i didn't get any fresh ones, these frozen ones turned out equally good.

Ingredients

350 gm - Tinda, cut to small pieces

1 small - Onion, chopped

1 medium - Tomato, chopped

1 tsp - yogurt / curds

Salt to taste

Grind to paste

4 flakes - Garlic

3 - Green chili

1/2 inch - Ginger

Masala powders

1 tsp - Coriander powder

1/2 tsp - Red chili powder

1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp - Garam masala powder

1 tsp - Chat masala powder

Seasoning & garnish

1/2 tsp - Jeera / cumin seeds

1cup - Coriander leaves , chopped

Method

1 ) Wash and dry tinda. Cut into medium size pieces.

2 ) Heat oil in a kadai or wok, add jeera, onion and fry till onion is lightly brown in color. Then add garlic-ginger-green chili paste. Fry for a minute.

3 ) Add masala powders - coriander, red chili, turmeric and garam masala. Stry and fry for a minute, then add tomatoes and yogurt. On low heat, covered with a lid, cook till tomato is well cooked. Add a little water to cook tomato.

4 ) Add chopped tinda, stir and mix. Close with a lid and cook on very low heat. Add salt to taste.Cook till tinda is well cooked. Garnish with coriander leaves.

5 ) Sprinkle chat masala powder generously, stir and mix well.

Take off heat and serve

Serve with roti / chapathi. Since this is a sabzi, it's in a dry form.