Tindora Bateta – Tropical vegetable with potato

When I was a child, I despised eating all vegetables. I remember how my mother used to spice up common veggies in interesting preparations, just to make them more palatable for me and my sisters. Tindora Bateta, eaten with fresh chappati’s, was one such veggie dish that I ate, simply because my mother made it taste so good!

Tindora Bateta is a vegetarian dish common in the Western, Southern & North-East parts of India. Growing up in Mumbai, I often saw my Gujarati & Maharashtrian friends bring it to school for lunch. Bateta, is Gujarati for Potatoes. The Tindora is a tropical vegetable that grows widely across India’s coastal regions. As is with most vegetables, the Tindora has nutritional properties, that are believed to reduce blood glucose levels, and is hence highly recommended to diabetics.

Tindora

The Tindora essentially, when eaten cooked, and without any seasoning, has a bitter taste. To make many Indian veggies palatable (such as the Karela & the Parwal), they are usually fried, cooked with potatoes, and seasoned with a range of spices. I learnt how to make Tindora Bateta from the ultimate cook on the planet – my Mother. It is a quick, simple and no-nonsense method. Hope you enjoy it!

You will need:

* 1/2 pound of Tindora – available in any Indian grocery store

* 3-4 medium sized potatoes, boiled, peeled and diced

* 1/2 medium sized onion, finely chopped

* Vegetable Oil for frying

* 1 tsp cumin seeds

* 1 pod of Garlic, minced

* 1 small thai green chili – sliced half lengthwise

* 1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste (available, bottled, in all Indian grocery stores)

* 3/4 tsp chilli powder

* 1 tsp Dhania-zeera (Corriander & Cumin seed) powder

* 1/4 tsp turmeric powder

* 1/4 tsp Chaat masala powder

* Salt to taste – abt 1 tsp

* Freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 a lemon

* A handful of Corriander leaves, finely chopped, for garnishing

The Method:

• Slice the Tindora like so:

Sliced Tindora

• Heat Oil in a shallow frying pan, for deep frying
• When the oil is well heated, Deep Fry the sliced Tindora in 2 batches, on high heat, till they are golden brown
• Drain the oil from the fried Tindora on a kitchen towel
• In a separate pan, spoon in 3 tbsp of oil, from the oil you used for deep frying
• When the oil is well heated, put in the whole cumin seeds
• When they start to splutter, throw in the sliced green chili, minced garlic and chopped oinion
• Let the onion fry till they are slightly browned
• Once browned, lower the heat and put in the ginger-garlic paste
• Let the paste fry in for abt 30 secs, before adding all the dry spices
• Mix the spices well into the onions and add in the diced boiled potatoes and the fried Tindora slices
• Mix very well, add salt to taste and turn off the heat
• Garnish with Corriander leaves and mix well again
• Before serving, squeeze in the juice of half a lemon

Tindora Bateta

• Eat with fresh hot chappati’s, or as an interesting side dish to the quintessential Daal-Chawal