Bitter gourd/bitter melon is one of the healthiest vegetables known to man kind. That it controls/reduces blood sugar is a very well known fact. Bitter gourd is used to prepare gojju/ palya in South India. My version of stir frying bitter gourd to get a crunchy dish is posted here.
- Preparation - 15 min
- Cooking time - 15 min
- Ease - Easy
Ingredients
- Bitter gourd - 3
- Grated desicated coconut - 1/2 cup
- Tamarind - 1 lemon size
- Jaggery - 4 tea spoonful powder
- Fenugreek = 1/2 wpoon
- Turmeric powder - 1/4 spoon
- Red Chilly powder - 1spoon
- Hing/asafoetida powder - 2 pinches
- Mustard seeds - 1/2 spoon
- Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
- Oil - 4 spoons for seasoning and frying
- Salt - 3/4 - 1 spoon ( to taste)
- Slit bitter gourd, remove seeds and core, cut as shown
- Soak tamarind , exract thick juice and keep aside.
- In a wok/kadai roast fenugreek, powder in a pestle and mortar and keep aside
- Add oil to the wok, let oil shimmer, add mustard, let it splutter, add curry leaves, add turmeric powder, hing, crushed fenugreek, chilly powder and fry for 1/2 a min.
- Add cut bitter gourd pieces and keep stir frying till gourd becomes translucent and crisp.
- Add tamarind juice, salt and fry till water almost evaporates, add jaggery let it dissolve, add grated coconut and fry again till jaggery caramelizes.
- Remove from fire.
- Crunchy stir fried bitter gourd is ready to savor.
This dish can be had with plain steamed rice with ghee/ paired with rasam rice or with curd rice instead of pickle.
Tips/Notes
- Tender /shiny fresh bitter gourd tastes good for this dish
- Select green/greenish white gourds with undamaged spikes
- Gourd should be firm to touch
- Very ripe gourd will be soft, seeds would have tured red - not desirable.
- caramelizing is the trick behind crunch
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