Tinda sabzi -A simple healthy and delicious curry made with apple gourd and tomatoes
Tinda sabzi-Tinda (or apple gourd) is a popular summer vegetable of India,though now its also available in other part of the world. It has a mild taste, very similar to bottle gourd/lauki. Some people often confuse it with “tindli / baby watermelon / coccinia” as both are from gourd family but they both are very different look and taste wise. Tinda is also named as Indian baby pumpkin or baby round gourd.
Tinda subzi is my favorite subzi but good quality tindas are rarely available in Dubai. So my usually try getting hold of fresh tindas when I visit India during summers, and make as much of this tinda subzi recipe as possible.
When I was young and just started cooking this was one dish I loved to cook. So whenever my mother went to the market and I had to cook something for me and my sisters, tinda subzi was the first choice.
Though it is a popular Punjabi dish but there are many different versions of making it across North India. It can be stuffed with dry spices to make “bharwa tinday / stuffed apple gourds”, some add in a creamy gravy to it, but personally I like to make it with a lot of fresh herbs and mild spices. It tastes best this way, as do most vegetables from the gourd family.
How to choose fresh tinda for making tinday ki subzi –
Choosing the good quality tindas (or tinday) for this tinda recipe is essential – Tinda which are small in size, dark in color and have a smooth skin are always preferable. Big and rough skinned tindas often have white or black hard seeds which are hard to cook and also do not taste as good as compared to small tindas.
If tinda have white or black hard seeds then scoop out the seeds before cooking but if the tinda have small soft white seeds then there is no need to scoop or discard them.
If we add too much oil and spices to such vegetables, the natural sweetness of these veggies gets lost in all the spices. So try to go easy on the spices and don’t overcook it.
Do try these Summer special vegetables-
- Lauki Moong Daal Sabzi
- Arbi Ki Bhujiya
- Achari Bhindi
- Yellow Pumpkin Raita
- Sattu Ka Parartha
- Phalse Ka Sharbat
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Tinda Recipe, Tinday ki Subzi Recipe, Apple Gourd Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 gm Baby Gourd / Tinda
- 250 gms Tomatoes / Tamatar chopped (3 medium sized)
- 1 tsp Green Chillies / Hari Mirch chopped
- 1/4 tsp Red Chilli powder / Laal mirch powder
- To taste Salt / Namak
- 3 tbs Cooking Oil
- 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds / Sabut Jeera
- 1/3 tsp Fennel Seeds / Saunf
- 1 pinch Asafoetida / Hing powder
- 2 tbsp Fresh Coriander / Cilantro / Hara Dhaniya Chopped
Instructions
- Wash the tindas and peel with the help of a vegetable peeler.
- Chop the tinday into cubes or make slices of medium thickness.
- Grind tomatoes and green chilies to make a paste.
- Heat oil in the pressure cooker and add cumin and fennel seeds.
- When seeds start crackling then add the asafoetida, tomato puree and all the dry spices.
- Saute and cook till oil start separating from the tomato masala.
- Now add chopped tinda in the pressure cooker and stir fry for a minute.
- Add about 1/3 cup of water in the cooker and mix well.
- Pressure cook on medium heat for 3 whistles or till it cooks completely but does not get mashed or pulpy.
- When the pressure in the cooker cools down completely then open it and add chopped fresh coriander or cilantro
- NOTE- If you want to make a dry curry or want more gravy then adjust the quantity of water accordingly. You can also add chopped tomatoes instead of making puree of tomatoes.
- Serving suggestions - Best served with roti, poori or rice.
Super ! IIejoyed cooking and eating it
Thank you Sujata 🙂
Thank God for this recipe without garam masala.. thanks for sharing
This looks so good…thanks for sharing
Sabzi looks very yummy
It looks so yummy.
I will try to make it.
Great recipe.
My favourite summer sabzi………………..love it.
yayy!! you have got it working 🙂 Congrats on the new site, it looks wonderful !
Thank you so much Nupur 🙂