Dondakaya Barada ~ Ivy Gourd Gram Flour Curry

An year or two ago I saw a Telugu cookery show video on youtube which featured Telangana specials. Both the recipes on that video were new to me and I never heard of those two dishes before. One of those recipes was dondakaya barada. Few weeks ago one of my friends posted capsicum barada recipe on one of the social media networks and that is when I realized barada is nothing but a vegetable stir fry sprinkled with some gram flour. This capsicum barada that my friend posted was similar to bell pepper gram flour koora I make.

Exif: ISO 160, Aperture f/4, Shutter 1/30 sec with 50mm and processed in Lightroom

That is when I did a search on barada and found any curry cooked with a vegetable and gram flour is called barada, which I was unaware. Any vegetable including leafy vegetables are used for this preparation. Some of the vegetables used are beans, dondakaya, capsicum~bell pepper, aalugadda ~ potato, thotakura ~ amaranth leaves and coriander leaves. I also came across a few blogs which mentioned barada is a popular preparation in Karimnagar district of Telangana, where I hail from. That was news to me and learnt something new. I never heard of that name until I saw the video mentioned above, though we do make capsicum gram flour koora. Keeping that in mind, I wanted to make a barada recipe for this BM, as I am featuring Telangana food in this Journey Through Regional cuisines.

Exif: ISO 160, Aperture f/4, Shutter 1/30 sec 50mm prime lens and processed in Lightroom

I made this barada to our liking and also used less gram flour than most of the online recipes called for. Some recipes called for using equal quantities of dondakaya and gram flour and some called for using 1:2 gram flour to dondakaya in weight. I felt that was way too much of gram flour. I used 3 tbsp, about ¼ cup which tasted fine but would not mind using a little less.

Exif: ISO 160, Aperture f/2.8, Shutter 1/50 sec with 50mm lens and processed in Lightroom

The dish I initially listed down for D was dalcha or dappalam. Dalcha is a stew prepared with chana dal and mutton, and was my first choice for letter 'D'. It was a common preparation at my paternal grandmother’s place and it never occurred to me that it is adapted from Hyderabad cuisine. Once I narrowed my theme to only Telugu dishes, I had to change it. I vaguely remember dappalam prepared when I was young but couldn't recollect the look and taste of it. I was unsure if we would like it and that is when I remembered dondakaya barada when a friend posted capsicum barada recipe on one of the social media.

Here are a few vegetables, fruits, ingredients and dishes starting with D.
Vegetables:
Dondakaya - Tindora (Hindi) ~ Ivy Gourd
Dosakaya - Cucumber and Melon Cucumber/Lemon Cucumber are called dosakaya in Telugu
Fruits:
Daanimmakaya - Anaar (Hindi) ~ Pomegranate
Draksha Pandlu - Angoor (Hindi) ~ Grapes
Spices:
Dhaniyalu - Dhaniya (Hindi) ~ Coriander seeds
Dasinchekka / Dalchina Chekka - Dalchini (Hindi) ~ Cinnamon Sticks
Dishes:
Dondakaya Koora, dondakaya pachadi, dondakaya masala, dosakaya pappu, dosakaya pachadi, dappalam, danchi golichina makkalu (a saute of crushed fresh corn, which is similar to bhutte ka kees), daddojanam (tempered yogurt rice)

Exif: ISO 160, Aperture f/2.8, Shutter 1/40 sec with 50mm prime lens and processed in Lightroom

Total Time: 25 - 30 minutes
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 - 20 minutes
Serves: 2 - 3

Ingredients:

3 tbsp. Oil
¼ teaspoon Cumin Seeds (opt. I did not use)
⅛ tsp. Mustard Seeds (opt. I did not use)
4-6 Curry Leaves
4 Green Chilies, cut into two
¼ cup chopped Onion
1 tsp. Ginger Garlic Paste (opt)
½ tsp. Coriander Powder
¾ - 1 tsp. Chili Powder
¾ - 1 tsp. Salt (adjust to taste)
350 grams (about 40) Dondakaya ~ Ivy Gourd ~ Tindora, sliced
3 tbsp. Senagapindi ~ Gram Flour ~ Besan< /li>
Coriander Leaves for garnish

Preparation:

Wash, cut the tips and slice dondakaya into circles.
Heat oil in a pan, add cumin & mustard seeds and let the seeds splutter.
Add curry leaves, green chilies and let chilies change color.
Add chopped onions saute until soft.
Add ginger garlic paste and cook until raw smell is gone.
Add coriander powder, chili powder, salt, turmeric powder and mix well.
Add sliced dondakaya, stir until spices coat the vegetable, cover and cook on medium - medium high flame until dondakaya is soft. Keep stirring in between for even cooking.
Once the vegetables is cooked, remove the cover, add gram flour and mix until flour coats the vegetable slices.
Reduce the flame to medium low and saute for 3-5 minutes until flour is roasted.
Sprinkle coriander leaves, stir and transfer to a serving bowl.
Serve it with rice or roti.

Note:

Oil - Gram flour absorbs lot of oil. When cooking dondakaya one might feel 3 tablespoon of oil is too much, but trust me, once you add gram flour the curry will get dry.
Gram Flour - I used 3 tablespoon of flour and I felt it would have tasted fine even if I added a tablespoon less. If you wish to have some masala like texture to the curry, please use 3 tbsp, else a little less.

This day in 2011: Sausage White Beans and Kale Soup
This day in 2014: Chila from Chhattisgarh
Events: This post also goes to A-Z Challenge for day 4, letter 'D'.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63