Tondali (Ivy Gourd / Kundru)

Tondali, ivy gourd, kundru in Hindi. We pick them small and firm, the ones that snap when you break them instead of bending. A tondali that has softened or turned red inside is past it, and no amount of cooking will bring it back.

The classic dish is tondali chi bhaji, sliced lengthways and fried in a fodni of mustard, hing and haldi with a spoon of crushed groundnut. It also makes tondali bhaat with goda masala, and thin rounds crisp up nicely in a shallow fry with salt and chilli powder. Since it holds its shape, it survives a lunch box better than any leafy bhaji.

Grown by our own members without chemical fertilizer and delivered next day across Pune, so it has not spent a week in a cold room first.

Packs of 250g and 500g. Store unwashed in a cloth bag in the fridge and use within four or five days.

More in organic vegetables, and dodka is a good rotation through the week.