My husband is a fan of bitter Gourd and I try to make it in as many ways as possible, from slow frying to stuffing and everything in between. My favorite is a gravy recipe which is tangy, spicy and masks the bitterness.
I love the Kaarakozhambu my mom makes and though I haven’t reached her level of perfection, I have done my best. In the usual recipe, coconut milk or ground poppy seeds are added for thickness. I added almonds for thickness, in an attempt to cut down the unwanted cholesterol and my tastebuds did not complain!
Whenever I make bittergourd, I cut it up, add lots of salt and let it sit for about 30 minutes. After that, I rinse it with lots of water. This way, some of the bitterness is lost.
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
Bitter Gourd – 2
Onion – 3/4 of a big onion
Tomato – 1 big
Garlic Flakes – 4 big ones
Tamarind – A big lemon sized ball
Sugar/Jaggery/Brown Sugar – A pinch or two
Oil – 1 Tablespoon
Mustard Seeds – 1 Teaspoon
Urad Dal – 1 Teaspoon
Fenugreek Seeds – A pinch
Jeera – 1 Teaspoon
Curry Leaves – 6
Soak tamarind in a little water and extract the juice.
Grind Onion, Tomato, Garlic and Almonds coarsely. Heat oil in a saucepan and add mustard seeds, jeera and urad dal. After the mustard seeds splutter, add fenugreek seeds and curry leaves. Take care not to brown the fenugreek seeds. Add the ground onion – tomato mixture and cook till the raw smell disappears. Add the bitter gourd pieces, salt, turmeric, chilli powder and dhaniya powder. Cook till the bitter gourd is done. Add the tamarind extract, sugar and cook till the gravy reaches a thick consistency. Remove from heat and garnish with coriander.
There is another variation to this dish which is as follows:
This is my entry to the Curry Mela hosted by Anthony of Anthony’s Kitchen.
Hi Chandrika,Paagarkai kaara kozhambu looks yummy. very nice picture and makes me hungry..Nice idea of using Almonds instead of coconut.. I also use coconut for this kozhambu.thanks for the recipe.
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Hmm…that sounds wonderful…bt unfortunately i cant make anythg with bittergourds here, for my husband is an anti bittergourdist!! :)Prbly once I go home, I can!!
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Paagarkai kaara kozhambu looks gr8 ,my hubby is also a gr8 fan of Bittergourd,but am anti and thnx for the recipe i will sure try this..in the mean time pls chk my site http://priya-amrutam.blogspot.com/have a nice day!!!
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Chandrika, bitter gourd with almonds? Interesting. Btw, all your recent posts look nice. Coming to your blog after about a week.
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where do you get bitter gourd in the tri-state area? I live in Manhattan…
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You are welcome, Prema!Shynee, do give it a try and let me know…You are welcome, Priya…I keep checking your blog often…You have a good one…Ya Vaishali, whenever I can I subsitute cocomut with almonds..to reduce cholesterol…and thank you very much!Priya, I get bitter gourd in NJ, in Indian stores…
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This is the best bitter gourd recipe ever! I tried this last week and was a big hit. I had a friend over for dinner too. All of us were totally bowled out!
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Forgot to mention in the previous comment. I used chopped onions and pureed tomatoes, did not use almonds.
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