Bitter gourd fry

I remember how we despised bitter gourd when we were young. We would give every excuse to not eat it however it was prepared. This was until I had the bitter gourd prepared by my mother-in-law. She uses the same spice combination that was used in pickles and without a drop of water makes such yummy bitter gourd sabzi. There is just one downside though. To remove the bitterness, she would dice the bittergourd and add salt mix it up well and keep it aside for about 8 hours, and then she would was it off in running water. I am one for not washing cut vegetables, as I believe it results in the loss of valuable nutrients. 

So I was thinking how I can keep the nutrients intact and still get it to taste good. I used the same combination of spices, but without the onion and tomato that the sabzi version uses. I just tried this out once and although it did not remove the bitter taste entirely, the fry turned out tasty enough. 

So let get cooking some healthy vegetables. 

Recipe 

Ingredients

Bittergourd - 3 - 4 long 

Salt -  to taste

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Aachar ka masala - 1 tbsp (recipe down below)

Curry leaves - 8-10

Oil to fry - as needed (I prefer olive oil) 

Method

Aachar ka masala:

Kalonji (Nigella seeds) - 2 tbsp

Methi (fenugreek seeds) - 1 tbsp

Saunf (Fennel seeds) - 1 tbsp 

Jeera (Cumin seeds) - 1 tbsp

Rai (mustard seeds) -  1 tbsp

Dry roast the above ingredients, allow to cool and grind into a fine powder. Store in an airtight container. It lasts for a few months under refrigeration. 

Karela Fry

Wash and slice the karela really thin. 

Sprinkle the turmeric and chilli powder and then the aachar ka masala. 

Cover the dish and shake it well so the spices spread evenly between the slices. 

Let is sit in the refrigerator overnight. 

Heat a flat tawa/girdle and add some olive oil. Gently place the bittergourd slices on the tawa. It may take about 3-4 batches to fry all the bittergourd. 

Sprinkle a few curry leaves. On low flame fry the bittergourd slices flipping when slightly browned. When the slices are crisp and browned on both sides (about 10 minutes), take them off the girdle and place the next batch, adding oil as needed. 

Hot crispy Karela is ready to be served with rice. 

Verdict

Since this is a dry stir-fry, it is a perfect accompaniment for rice.