Another one from my family favorites series – This lipsmacking traditional Kovakkai Rice recipe is my go to recipe when I am cooking for guests! The aroma from freshly ground spice mix, perfectly cooked rice and cripsy kovakkai makes this a dish hard to resist
If you are looking for a delicious weekend special recipe, then look no further. This traditional kovakkai rice recipe is officially our family favorite, a must when we get kovakkai ( tindora/ ivygourd) from the grocers. We love a good biriyani on the weekends, but ever since I came across my aunt’s kovakkai rice recipe, it has taken over biriyani’s spotlight! And when I say family favorite, I really meant it. My 4 year old daughter who loves her spices just like her mother relished this reipe as well.
Kovakkai/ tindora/ tendli/ ivy gourd- People have different names for this veggie across the country, but one thing everyone would universally agree is, this is a delicious veggie to cook and eat. Roast it with some spices until nice and crispy, you have the perfect side with your rice. Infact that was my favorite way of cooking kovakkai until I came across my aunt’s kovakkai rice recipe.
What are some recipes using kovakkai / tindora?
Apart from this kovakkai rice, I like to roast them in some sambar masala, chilly powder and tadka until they get nice and crispy. We usually serve it as a side with some rice. Another delicious recipe you could try is this kovakkai thogayal/ chutney
Can I make this kovakkai rice recipe with any other veggie?
Can’t find kovakkai? No worries, you can substitut kovakkai with eggplant or bell peppers. The masala paste that we make for this kovakkai rice recipe will go well with eggplant or bell peppers too.
What kind of rice do we use for this recipe?
We usually make this with “>Sona masoori rice. This is a south Indian style recipe, so any south Indian variety like sona masoori would be great. But basmati works well too.
I usually make this kovakkai rice when I am cooking for guests. Kovakkai is one vegetable I find most people like, so I can be assured it will be well recieved. You can always cook the kovakkai along with the rice in the instantpot / pressure cooker. That would be a faster and healthier way to do this recipe. But you would be missing the crunhy, crispy bits that you get from roasting/ frying the vegetable separately, which honestly is one my favorite things about this rice!
So if you are feeling fancy, go ahead and put in some extra effort. You will not regret it. If not, you could always cook them along with rice. They still taste delicious.
Let’s see how to do this family favorite rice recipe-
Aromatic south Indian style kovakkai rice with crispy vegetables and spicy masala paste
- 11/2 cups Rice
- 31/2 cuos sliced kovakkai / ivy gourd/ tindora
- 1/2 cup peas
- 11/2 cups sliced onions
- 2 green chillies slit (can use serrano rchillies too)
- 6 to 7 curry leaves
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tbsp oil
- salt to taste
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 tsp peppercorns
- 2 small pieces of cinnamon
- 1 elaichi / cardamom
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 to 5 dried red chillies or to taste
- 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 cup grated coconut
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/2 inch ginger
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
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Toprepare the masala paste, dry roast all the ingredients listed for the masalapaste except (garlic, ginger, turmeric and asafoetida) until you get a nicearoma from all the spices and the coconut starts turning golden. (Do no burn the coconut). When done, grind everything along with the garlic, ginger,turmeric, asafoetida and little water. Set this aside
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If you want to cook the vegetable separately to make it crispy either deep fry it or saute it with a little saute until they get nice and roasted. Set it aside. If you don't want to do that, add the chopped kovakkai along with the rice and skip this step
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Turn on the saute mode in IP and add oil. Add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, greenchilies, curry leaves and let the mustard splutter
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Then add the onions and saute well until the onions startsturning golden brown. Now add the chopped kovakkai/tendli/ivy gourd and saute for 2 minutes. (If you roasted/ fried the kovakkai in the previously, you will not add it to the instant pot now)
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Add the ground masala paste and saute for 2 more minutes. Make sure the masala paste does not burn. If you think the masala is sticking to the bottom, add 2 tbsp of water and deglaze the pan.
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Switch off the saute mode. Add the peas, 21/2 cups water, rice, enough salt for the rice and cook on manual high pressure for 6 minutes. Let the pressure settle naturally. Open up and fluff with a fork.
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If you did not add the kovakkai to the instant pot, you will add the roasted kovakkai to the cooked rice and mix it once it becomes a little cool.
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Serve this traditional kovakkai rice with chips/ raita
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Cook rice in a pressure cooker and set it aside to cool. My water to rice ratio for cooking the rice is 1:2. You can spread the cooked rice in a big plate so that they cool faster and don’t form lumps
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To prepare the masala paste, dry roast all the ingredients listed for the masala paste except (garlic, ginger, turmeric and asafoetida) until you get a nice aroma from all the spices and the coconut starts turning golden. (Do no burn the coconut). When done, grind everything along with the garlic, ginger, turmeric, asafoetida and little water. Set this aside.
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Deep fry the chopped/sliced kovakkai/ivy gourd and set it aside in a paper towel to remove the excess oil. Alternatively, saute them in couple of tsps of oil until they are cooked and soft.Set it aside.
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Now take a large wok or pan, add 1 to 2 tbsp oil/ghee and add the curry leaves, green chilies and saute for a minute. Then add finely chopped onions and saute until the onions start turning golden brown. Then add the ground masala paste and peas to the onions and saute them until you see oil separating from the sides. The peas will also be cooked by then
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Now add the cooked rice, salt as needed and mix well. Add the deep fried or sauteed kovakkai/ivy gourd to the rice and mix everything well until the vegetable is distributed evenly.
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Serve hot with some papads/ raitha.
Can also make this recipe with eggplants or bell peppers instead of Kovakkai/ ivygourd
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Thank you so much for sharing this lovely recipe pree, we all loved it and I might end up doing this quite often now!!
Thanks a lot shravani 🙂 I am so happy you enjoyed it!
This is such a keeper of recipe pree, I have tried this few days back and we just loved it. Going to make this often now.
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe. We all loved it!
Thank you so much for the feedback! Glad you guys enjoyed it 🙂