Gutti dondakaya recipe, a simple yet delicious Andhra style stuffed ivy gourd made with kura podi (curry powder)
gutti dondakaya
Andhra food boasts of a number of stuffed vegetable dishes. Vegetables like vankaya (brinjals/baingan), bendakaya (okra/bhindi), dondakaya (ivy gourd/tindora) and kakarakaya (bittergourd/karela) are perfect for stuffed dishes. Gutti dondakaya is one of those traditional, vegetarian Andhra ‘vantalu’ (read that as cooking) that has as many variations as there are ammammas/nannammas (grandmothers) in Andhra. This isn’t restaurant style Indian food but real, everyday food cooked in Telugu homes.
ivy gourd aka tindora, slit half way through and stuffed with the kura podi
I am sharing a treasured dondakaya recipe Andhra style. Folks either love or hate dondakaya. Dondakaya is incredibly tasty when cooked right. It all depends on how you transform this petite vegetable into a flavorful, “I want to eat it” type of dish. You have to choose tender, slightly plump tindora for preparing this Andhra vegetarian delight. It’s so delicious, and simple to make that you’d want to make it a part of your everyday lunch or dinner menu. Even your kids will enjoy this dish.
I adore this vegan dondakaya recipe because the homemade kura podi (stuffing) is packed with a lovely range of ingredients that include seeds, spices, copra, and lentils. This stuffing has a very nice balance of spice and a subtle sweet flavor with neither overpowering the other. While preparing the stuffing, you can double the kura podi ingredients and make some extra stuffing curry powder for later use. You can refrigerate the kura podi to use as stuffing to make gutti vankaya instead of dondakaya. This is a versatile spice blend and cuts preparation time if you have the kura podi ready.
The key to tasty gutti dondakaya is the stuffing aka kura podi
The dry red chilies, dry coconut, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, sesame seeds and Bengal gram form the backbone of gutti dondakaya. It all depends on the roasting of the spices used for the stuffing. As you roast them to a nice golden brown shade, there is a subtle fragrance in the air which fills your kitchen. You will have to take care not to burn them. Roast them on a low flame.
You have to choose tender, long ivy gourds otherwise, you are compromising on the overall flavor of the dish. I like that the tempering ingredients though minimal play a significant role. Yes, fresh curry leaves and asafoetida elevate the flavor profile of the dish by leaps and bounds. It’s subtly spiced but overall a well-balanced spice blend. Finally, we have to roast the stuffed dondakaya on slow fire allowing it to soak up all the flavors nicely.
There is no need to garnish the final dish. I sprinkled some chopped coriander leaves for visual appeal since I am photographing the image.
gutti dondakaya andhra style
I have earlier blogged a few dondakaya recipes andhra style, mostly dry saute versions and few stuffed dondakaya varieties. I am sharing the links to the dondakaya recipes for your easy reference.
dondakaya vepudu, dondakaya fry, dondakaya pappula podi, dondakaya kobbari vepudu, dondakaya verusenaga fry (with peanuts), dondakaya pachadi (chutney), dondakaya annam (rice), stuffed tendli andhra style, stuffed dondakaya vepudu, stuffed dondakaya masala kura, crispy dondakaya
This is a gem among dondakaya recipes and you should give it a try. You can come back and thank me later. 🙂
gutti dondakaya vepudu
How to make gutti dondakaya or stuffed tindora andhra style
