Paarikyaai Poolikootakari (Bitter Gourd side dish)

Anu's Note:

First, you gotta try and pronounce the name of this dish!!! :-) Bitter gourd is a type of Asian squash (read http://www.foodsubs.com/Squashasian.html), and is NOT my favourite, because, well, it's downright bitter! But there ARE a few people who love this potent veggie, my dad included! Known to have medicinal properties excellent for people with diabetes, there certainly are ways to make this palatable, and my mom knows just how. This is her very own recipe that my dad has wolfed down several times. This recipe has been posted by request for Charishma... hope you like it!

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 2

• 2 teaspoons oil
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon Urad Dal (split skinned black gram)
• 250 g bitter melons, remove seeds and cut into rings (karela)
• 1/8 teaspoon turmeric
• salt
• 2 tablespoons tamarind pulp, soaked in 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon sambhar powder or 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon jaggery or 1 teaspoon palm sugar or 1 teaspoon raw sugar (I suppose you could try this with regular white sugar as well)

Directions:

1. Head oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and add mustard seeds and urad dal.
2. When the mustard starts to sputter, add the sliced gourd, turmeric powder and salt and saute on a low flame for about 10 minutes.
3. Add the water that the tamarind was soaked in, sambar powder (or curry powder) and jaggery.
4. Cover and cook on a low flame for about 10 minutes; then check if the karela has been cooked; if not, add an additional 1/4 cup water, cover and cook until all the water has been absorbed.
5. Remove from flame and serve hot with rice and sambar, or chappatis.

Reviews

[Charishma_Ramchandani]

This was very tasty! I really really loved it. I now shop more for bittergourd than for coffee;)