Heat oil in a wide stir fry pan. Iron pan works best as it cooks faster and helps to crisp up better compared to a non stick pan.
Temper with mustard seeds, split black gram, cumin seeds and curry leaves.
Saute
Add the chopped kovakkai and fry in oil over medium flame for 3 to 4 minutes.
Now reduce flame to low, cover the pan with a lid and cook the kovakkai for 30 to 45 minutes over low flame stirring every 5 minutes to avoid scorching at the bottom. There is no need to add any water to cook this veggies, as kovakkai is naturally high in water content and that will be enough to cook / steam the veggie.
In about 30 minutes, open and check if its cooked thoroughly.
Once it cooks add ginger garlic paste. Adding ginger garlic paste is an optional step, it makes the dry curry full of flavors and also adds a nice crispy crust to the edges texture wise. You may skip or try using some crushed garlic instead.
Also add turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, black pepper powder and salt.
Stir fry for next few minutes until the masala powders browns. In about 10 to 15 minutes, it will brown even more around the edges. The more you fry, the more you brown, the more tasty its gonna be!
Finally add coriander leaves and stir fry for few minutes over high flame.
Switch off and serve! This dry curry goes well with sambar, rice or curd rice or as a subji for Chapati!
Notes
Ginger Garlic Paste - is purely optional, adds nice flavor. You may skip or use crushed garlic cloves for variation. There are no onions in the recipe, for variation you may add some for more body or quantity.