Bitter Gourd Stir Fry

Bitter Gourd is one name which I hated when I was a child. I used to believe that I was going through some kind of punishment when I had to eat it. But it is only after I grew up that I realised it is a dish which tastes great and if cooked properly it wont taste bitter too. Not to forget it is one of those healthy dishes which is always recommended. I still remember plucking the bitter gourd from the plant at my grand mom's place and then eating the best cooked bitter gourd fry prepared by her. Now that I am into cooking, I tried this out and it came out as expected, yes, it was tasty. So lets have a look at the recipe.

                                                                        Image Source: Wikipedia

Ingredients:

Bitter Gourd - 3
Salt - As per taste
Onions - 1
Red Chilli Powder - One and half tablespoons
Garlic Cloves - 2
Roasted chick peas/Putnal Dal - 1 cup
Oil - 2 tablespoons

Preparation:

Peel off the outer layer of bitter gourd slightly but not completely. Remove the ends and cut the bitter gourd into circular pieces and mix the pieces with salt. Squeeze the pieces and let it stay for 2-3 hours. This helps to let go the bitterness of the bitter gourd.

Take a blender and add roasted chick peas, garlic cloves, salt to taste, red chilli powder and onions. Make a powder out of it and keep it aside.

Take a pan to heat and add oil to it. Add bitter gourd pieces to it and fry on medium flame.

When the bitter gourd pieces turn golden yellow in colour add the roasted chick peas powder to it.

Fry for 5-10 mins till the bitter gourd pieces get mixed with the powder and get its flavour.

Remove the pan from heat and serve it hot.

Serving Options:

Serve it with steamed rice along with sambar/rasam.