Air Fryer Tindora and Potato Fry
Tindora and Potato Fry is a crunchy, spiced shaak of tindora and potato sticks. This can easily be pan-fried, but I make it in the air fryer for that extra crispiness and convenience.
About this Recipe
Tindora, or ivy gourd, is a popular vegetable in Gujarati cuisine. My family always had a tindora vine growing that we often picked from. In California, my parents continue to grow and harvest the plant.
There are many ways to make tindora. It’s a simple, nutritious vegetable. It looks like little cucumbers and tastes like a milky, slightly bitter cucumber.
TIndora batata was a Gujarati shaak that my family ate often. This is that made in an air fryer and with frozen tindora commonly found at Indian grocery stores.
Seasoning the Vegetables
One challenge to this recipe is properly seasoning the vegetables in the air fryer. If you season them at the beginning, before adding them to the air fryer, the seasoning will burn. Instead, I hold off until the last five minutes.
The other issue is losing much of the seasoning as it slips through the grill of the air fryer. So I remove the grate of my air fryer just before adding the seasoning. By that point, your vegetables should have crisped up enough that the grill pan is not necessary.
I have cooked this by adding the seasoning with and without the grill pan, it works either way, but the masala stays on better if you remove the grill pan.
Ingredients
Tindora – ivy gourd
Potato
Dhana jeeru — a Gujarati spice blend of toasted cumin and coriander. Substitute with equal parts cumin and coriander powder or make it from whole spices.
Amchoor – for that little balance of acid
Garam masala
Turmeric powder
Oil
Serving Tindora and Potato Fry
This is a dry shaak, although it could easily be eaten as finger food, much like french fries or pakora. As a shaak it goes well in a Gujarati thali. In a thali, it should be served with a flatbread, either roti or puri; a dal such as yellow dal, rice, and something sweet like dudhi halwa.
Variations
- Some air fryers do not allow you to cook with the grate removed. If that is the case with your air fryer, you might combine the masala and vegetables in a bowl and then return them to the air fryer. Or you can accept the loss of the masala.
- This dish can also be made simply as Tindora Fry by leaving out the potato and replacing it with more tindora. Or you might adjust the ratio of tindora and potato to your liking.
Refrigerating
Refrigerates well for up to 4 days. Reheat in the stove or microwave. If reheating on the stove, add a little oil to the pan. Or reheat in the air fryer.
Air Fryer Tindora and Potato Fry
Tindora and Potato Fry is a crunchy, spiced shaak of tindora and potato sticks. This can easily be pan-fried, but I make it in the air fryer for that extra crispiness and convenience.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp oil
- 1 package frozen tindora (12 oz)
- 2 medium potatoes (peeled and cut in 1/4” sticks)
- 1 Tbsp dhana jeeru
- 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder (or paprika + pinch of cayenne pepper)
- 1 tsp amchoor
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
Instructions
- Toss tindora and potatoes together with oil and salt to coat.
- In a separate bowl, mix the dhana jeeru, Kashmiri chili powder, amchur, garam masala, and turmeric powder.
- Cook tindora and potatoes in the air fryer at 380°F for 10-12 minutes; no need to preheat.
- Add the masala mixture to the tindora and potatoes. Toss to coat.
- Cook for 5 more minutes in the air fryer at 380°F.
