Hagalkayi Palya (Bittermelon stirfry)

HAPPY NEW YEAR ..

 I am starting the new year with a bitter dish to balance out the cakes/pastries ate during new year and Christmas celebrations :) . BTW, I always try Chinese bitter gourd or bitter melon as they are comparatively less bitter than Indian ones ;)

Ingredients:

For coarse spice powder:

Grated coconut: 3 tbsp

Rasam powder: 1 tbsp

For stir-fry

Bittergourd: 2 cups (deseeded & finely chopped)

Turmeric: 2 big pinches

Oil: 1.5 tbsp

Tamarind powder or very thick tamarind paste: 1 tbsp

Jaggery/Brown Sugar: 1 tbsp

Curry leaves: a sting

Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp

Urad dal: 1 tsp (optional)

Asafetida: a pinch

Broken red chilli: 1

Salt: According to taste

Cilantro: 2 tbsp

Method:

• Mix a tsp of salt & turmeric to the bitter gourd pieces & allow it to leave water for 20-30mins. 
• Squeeze the water from th bittergourd &discard the water. This procedure is said to reduce the bitterness in the gourd.
• Heat a broad pan, add oil. When oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds crackle, add curry leaves, asafetida, urad dal, broken red chilli & saute for 10secs. 
• Add the bitter gourd & mix well. Allow the bitter gourd to get cooked for 5mins. 

• Meantime, make a coarse powder of the coconut & the rasam powder(Do not add water).
• Once the bitter gourd is half cooked, add the tamarind powder, salt (note salt is added before too), jaggery, the prepared coarse powder & mix well. Cook for another 5-7mins.
• Turn off the flame, garnesh with coriander leaves/cilantro & serve with rice or roti.

Notes:

1. Chinese bittermelon oozes out a lot of water while cooking. Hence, there is no need to add water while cooking. However, Indian bittergourd might need few teaspoons of water.
2. The palya is supposed to be dry. So, donot make the tamarind paste or spice paste/powder watery.

Hagalakayi Tomato Curry(Bitter melon Tomato curry)

Though it has numerous medicinal value.., my son & my hubby donot like to eat this veggie in any form. So, somehow once in 3 months I manage to get this & force my family members to eat.
This time instead of Indian karela(bitter gourd), I got Chinese bitter melon & prepared the "not-so-common" recipe using bitter melon.

You can get to know more about the medicinal values of bittergourd/bitter melon here & here.

My maid told me about this recipe, I made some changes according to my family needs. I did not know the actual name for this curry, as my told the name in her language. So, if any of you have ideas, do let me know.., I'll add it here :))

Ingredients:
1 medium sized ಹಾಗಲಕಾಯಿ/karela/bitter melon (finely chopped)
3 tbsp grated coconut
1 tbsp peanuts
2 tomatoes (boiled)
3 red chillies
1 onion chopped
1 big pinch turmeric
1.5 tsp oil
0.5 tsp mustard seeds
0.5 tsp cumin seeds
3-4 curry leaves
1 red chilli (for tadka)
coriander leaves (for garneshing)
salt according to taste

Method:

• Finely chop the karela, sprinkle salt & turmeric on it & keep it aside for 10 mins.
• Dry roast the red chillies & peanuts separately.
• Grind together the peanuts, chillies, coconut & 2 boiled tomatoes & prepare a smooth paste with it.
  
• Squeeze out the water from karela & cook the karela by adding little water ( this would be cooked within 5 minutes).
• Add the oil to a kadai, when oil is hot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, red chilli.
• Add onions & fry them till it turns golden brown.
• Add the paste to the tadka & cook it for a minute (until raw smell disappears).
• Add the cooked karela, salt & cook for another 3-5 minutes in a slow flame.
• Garnesh it with coriander leaves & serve it with chapathi or rice.

You can find one more recipe of bitter-melon here: Hagalakayi palya (In Taste Of Mysore)

Bitter gourd Chips (Karela Chips)

Ingredients:
Bitter Gourd - 4-5
Rice Flour - 2 tbsp
Corn flour - 1 tbsp (corn starch)
Chilli Powder - According to taste
Salt - According to taste
Oil - For deep frying
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Method:

• Slice the bitter gourd & remove the hard seeds.
• Add salt, turmeric powder to the chopped bitter gourd
  
• Mix it well and keep it aside for a hour
• Squeeze out the water from karela completely
• Add rice flour, corn starch, chilli powder to the bittergourd slices and mix it well
• The mixture should form a coating on bittergourd
  
• Now, fry the slices in oil.The slices should be fried on a slow flame until they turn golden brown in color.
  
• Bittergourd chips are ready to serve

PS:Updated the photo on 12th Feb 2010.