Bitter Gourd Fry (Dry Curry)

Ready to Serve Bitter Gourd Fry.

Bitter Gourd is known for its healthy qualities and it has many medicinal values. Many like to eat and they are fond of this vegetable. One has to have a habit of eating bitter gourd at least once in fifteen days. As I said before, it has many many good qualities which is good for our body and helps to be healthy in natural way.
Let us see some benefits of adding bitter gourd in our diet.
Bitter Gourd has been used in village medicine since a long time for its numerous therapeutic benefits. It is packed with some nutrients and healthy components.  It helps to maintain digestive health. Bitter gourd is full of dietary fiber which is required by the body. They helps to prevent problems like constipation. They are good for killing infectious worms in our stomach. It helps to improve immunity. They are rich source of Vitamin C which helps to boost our immunity. They are good for diabetics. They helps to loose extra weight.and prevents vision related disorders. Using bitter gourd, helps you to look beautiful since it has an abundant supply of fibre, vitamins, anti - oxidants and minerals which helps to flush out the toxins.
Bitter gourd fry can be served as one of the side dish.It goes well with plain rice, chapatis, rotis, pooris and naans.
Actually I wanted to deep fry and at the end of the day I just shallow fried and mixed all the spices together and it turned as dry curry. I did not use any water except tamarind pulp. The mixture of spice and tangy sweet and salt made bitter gourd fry as super yummy.
No Onion or Garlic added in " Bitter Gourd Fry".

Lets see the recipe now.

Things Needed :

Bitter Gourd : 1
Ground Nuts : 1/2 Cup ( 3 to 4 Table spoons  of roasted powder )
Jeera : 1/2 Tea spoon
Methi seeds : 5 to 6 
Besan (Channa dal powder)  : 2 Table spoons
Chilly Powder : 1/2 Tea spoon
Rasam Powder : 1/2 Tea spoon
Salt : as required
Tamarind pulp or lemon extract : 1 Table spoon
Curry Leaves : 6 to 8
Coriander Leaves : 2 Table spoons
Ingh : a pinch
Jaggery : 2 to 3 Table spoons
Oil : 2 Table spoons

Method :

1. Wash and cut bitter gourd in circle shape and remove the inner pulp and seeds. Keep it aside.

 

2. Roast ground nuts and remove the outer skin and powder in rava consistency. ( not fully powder).
3. Soak tamarind in hot water ( very less quantity of water to be used) and squeeze out the pulp.
4. Now put besan, ground nut powder, rasam powder, red chilly powder, little jeera and salt together in a big plate or bowl

  5. Mix it nicely and spread this mixture on the cut bitter gourd circled pieces. Mix it nicely and keep it aside.

 6. Keep a pan on the fire and put oil. Put jeera and Methi seeds. Let it turn slightly brown. Add ingh and curry leaves to it.

7. Add bitter gourd pieces as it is in the oil. Fry on low flame for 3 to 4 minutes. 

8. Add tamarind pulp and jaggery. Stir slowly and mix it well. Let the bitter gourd turn soft.
9. Now add coriander leaves and shift  bitter gourd fry to a serving dish.
10 Serve with the main dish you prepared.

Note ;

You must cut the pieces in to very thin. You can use onions and garlic if you wish to. Adding more oil is optional. By using more oil you can deep fry the bitter gourd. Though it is tasty using more oil is not good for health. You can also add ajwan  (thymol in English)( oma in Kannada). dry grind a little and then mix it with besan and groundnut powder. Adding green chilly to the seasoning is optional.
Preparation time : 5 minutes 
Cooking  time : 10 minutes.
Serves : 2 .

Black Channa - Malabar Leaves (Basale soppu) Curry

Black Channa - Malabar Leaves curry is a gravy dish and it can be one of the side dish also.
Black channa is soaked in water for 5 to 6 hours and then cooked with Basale (Malabar leaves) leaves. The combination of black channa and the leaves is really nice and healthy too.
Let us see some benefits of having Black Channa in our diet.
Black channa ( chick peas) belong to the desi variety and have a good amount of fiber content and lower glycemic index. The seeds are excellent sources of protein. They are low in fat, high in dietary fiber, rich in vitamins and minerals.  Using black chickpeas is a healthy addition to our diet. It helps to lower the cholesterol, stabilizes the blood sugar in the body and good for prevention of diabetes. It contains good source of iron and it is rich in anti oxidants. Black Chickpeas are good for treating people who are suffering from kidney stones and jaundice. They can soak a handful of chickpeas at night and eat the seeds in the morning and drink the water to quench their thirst. They contain soluble fiber and adding black chickpea can be a healthy addition to our diet.
We can have this " Black Channa - Malabar Leaves" curry with plain rice, chapatis, rotis, naans, idli, dosa or even with bread. 
No Onions or Garlic added in this curry.
These Basale Leaves are from my garden and I feel so happy to use these healthy leaves.

Things Needed : 

Malabar leaves : 1 Bowl
Black Channa : 1Cup
Toor dal :2 Handful (1/4 Cup)
Rasam Powder : 2 Table spoons
Garam Masala powder : 1/2 Tea spoon
Tamarind pulp or Lemon juice : 1 Table spoon
Jaggery :1 Table spoon
Jeera : 1 Tea spoon
Oil : 1 Tea spoon full
Ingh : a pinch
Curry leaves : 5 to 6
Coriander Leaves : 2 Table spoons.
Green chilly : 2
Salt : required

Method :      

1. Wash and cut, Malabar leaves (basale soppu), coriander leaves and keep it aside. Slit green chilly.

2. Wash and soak black chenna for about 6 to 8 hours and pressure cook for 10 minutes. (It should be soft).

3. Wash and pressure cook toor dal and keep it aside.
4. Now keep a big pan on the fire and put water. Let it boil. Add basale leaves and cook till they are soft.

5. Add cooked black chickpeas, toor dal, salt, tamarind pulp, jaggery, slit green chilly and turmeric powder.

6. Mix it well and let it boil for 3 to 4 minutes.

7. Add rasam powder, garam masala powder and mix it well. Let it cook for another 2 minutes.

8. Add jeera, ingh and curry leaves splutter to the ready curry. Shift it to a serving bowl.

9. Add coriander leaves and serve with main dish you have prepared.

Note :

Chickpeas should be cooked well. You can reduce or increase the amount of jaggery.  You can add onions and garlic if you wish to. Adding a spoon of fresh ghee will add to the taste of the curry. The consistency can be thick or like sambar as you wish. You can add little butter instead of ghee just before serving. I have used MTR Rasam powder. (choice is yours). Home made rasam powder is the best.
Time : Cooking Time 30 minutes +  Chickpeas Soaking time  5 to 6 hours or over night.
Serves : 4 to 5.