Dondakai boondi koora/ Tendli Boondi fry/ Ivy gourd with a crunch

One of thing I used to enjoy in wedding food, especially in our Andhra wedding, since I haven't attended any other wedding is how they serve crunchy mixture or boondi as a side dish. I love to mix it with daal curries or even yogurt rice. It gives a nice crunch. Now a days, Boondi is mixed into the curry, by curry I mean a dry dish, a stir fry for 2 reasons - one being, to give a crunch, other being, to make the dish double in quantity. Well come on they do need to feed a lot of hungry people. :)
Well I make mix boondi only for the crunch, believe me! :) and its yummy too, that I will agree.
Remember to always add the boondi towards the end, just before serving, so that the boondi doesn't loose its crunch.
I have tried doing this with Bendi/ lady's finger before too, this time its with Dondakai/ tendli or ivy gourd.
It doesn't take very much time to make this if you have dondakai cut already, otherwise, keep cutting!!!

Ingredients:

1/2 kg dondakai, julienned
1/2 to 3/4 cup boondi
1 small onion, chopped
chopped coriander leaves for garnish

1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp jeera or cumin seeds
1/4 tsp urad daal
3-4 dry red chillies, broken
bunch of curry leaves

1 tbsp oil
salt to taste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2- 1 tsp chilli powder (depends on your liking)

Method:

Heat oil in a pan. Add urad daal and let brown. Add mustard seeds, jeera and let splutter. Add the red chillies and curry leaves before adding the cut onions and dondakai. Saute for 5 mins, then add salt. If you cover the pan, the dondakai might get soft, so you can leave it uncovered. Add turmeric and chilli powder. Saute until cooked. See to it that the dondakai retain their shape and don't become too soft. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Right before serving add the boondi and serve. Serve with rice or chappathi. Enjoy!!!