Kovakka thoran

Our lunch at home consists of rice, thoran, curry and fish or meat almost always. Vegetable thoran is an integral part of our lunch meal. I feel its a healthy and delicious way of eating vegetables.

You can always moderate the amount of oil and coconut used. Traditionally the knife used for cutting vegetables, meat or fish in Kerala is very different. My mom never uses a cutting board to cut the vegetables. She uses a picchatti ( atraditional kerala kitchen knife) and a rubber glove on the index finger of her left hand on which rest the vegetable and very skilfully cuts the vegetables in very thin proportionate slices. Thinking of it I could put up a video of my mom using a   traditional Kerala kitchen knife sometime! Its beautiful to watch and is truly an art. I personally feel that when the vegetables are cut this way it cooks fast and retain their crunchiness and original flavour.

My skill level with a picchatti is super low , meaning I can peel a small onion and probably finish  cutting a bunch of vegetables without cutting my fingers by the end of next day. So for this kovakka thoran I did not use a picchatti but a grater to grate my veggies which was much easier for me. They did not turn out as perfectly as I mom would cut them. But its definitely packed with flavour. Someday I would love to master the art of using a picchatti but not now not with two toddlers running around.

Kovakka thoran recipe:

Kovakka/ivy gour/tindora and is used generally in indian cusine. Its used in sambar, aviyal , sauted or stuffed with masala and deep fried. Its rich in beta carotene and has a very earthy flavour. It is also know to regulate blood glucose levels. Kovakka thoran can be eaten with rice or rotis .

Notes:

I have used very little water about 1 1/2 tbsp. So keep a close watch so that you don't burn it . You can use more if you feel the vegetables are not cooked but careful it does not become too mushy, thoran has to be dry.