Kovakkaai Fry

Kovakkaai, also called Ivy Gourd in English, was an unknown vegetable to me until a few years back when I had it at a friend's place. My Mom never used kovakkaai in her cooking and I didn't know how great it tasted. As a matter of fact, I made kovakkaai fry when my Mom visited me last summer and now she is making it on a regular basis. How sweet is that????!!!!! Anyway, getting back to business, this fry was the simplest that I've ever made (except for the cutting part, which takes too long), with very little variety of spices that go into it. Because of the limited spices, the flavor and taste of kovakkaai is well preserved.

Ingredients (about 2 servings):

Kovakkaai - 1/2 a pound cut into thin slices
Cooking oil - 1 tablespoon
Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon (vary this to suit your taste)
Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. Wash kovakkaai, cut into thin slices and set aside.
2. In a wide pan, heat some cooking oil, add the kovakkaai and fry for about 5 minutes or until it gets a little soft, on medium heat.
3. To step 2. add some red chilli powder and salt and keep frying until the kovakkaai cooks thoroughly and becomes crispy.
4. Turn off the stove and serve as as side with rice or rotis.

Tip:
Soaking the cut kovakkaai in salt water for 10 minutes before cooking speeds up the cooking process, or so says my Mom :-).