Tondekayi Flaxseeds fry

Typically I do not buy into food fads. I sort of always rely on age old wisdom than the pop-researches published by glossy magazines. That is the reason flax seeds never charmed me till now. I finally decided to try them succumbing to heard mentality I guess. They did look rather sad for a miracle food. But then appearance is always deceptive. I went ahead and tried them. Initially I thought I would substitute them in our recipes calling for oil-seeds like peanuts or sesame. It is easy to begin with substituting for ingredients in the same family when experimenting  it the first time!

This Tondekayi fry turned out to be quite nice and I did not have to sell the idea of eating 'healthful' food to Honey. The health benefits of flax seeds, not sure as of now!

We will need,

For the masala

Flaxseeds 1 tbsp
Dhania seeds 1 tsp
Byadagi chillies 2-3 (Adjust according to taste)
Urad dal 1 tsp

For the fry
Tondekayi /Tindora 1 lb  cleaned, trimmed and cut into quarters
Peanut oil /coconut oil 1-2 tbsp
Mustard seeds 1/6 tsp
Jeera 1/4 tsp
Hing
Curry leaves a handful
Tamarind extract 1/2 tsp (adjust as per taste)
Jaggery crushed 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Coriander fresh to garnish

Method:

• To prepare the masala, toast all the ingredients on a hot skillet one by one till golden brown and cool it. Once cool enough to handle blitz it in a grinder to end up with a smooth power.
• Heat oil in a wok. Throw in the mustard, cumin, hing and curry leaves. Once they stop sizzling add the prepped vegetable. Saute till they are slightly tender about 5-6 minutes. Alternately it can be braised with a little water too.
• Add the prepared Masala,tamarind, Jaggery and salt. Cover and cook till the vegetable is tender. Adjust salt and garnish with coriander. 
• Serve hot with rotis.