Monday, January 11, 2010

"Everyday Cooking"- Bitter Gourd Crisps


I know this one is not going to be many peoples favorite.Who likes Bitter Gourd???Not many hands raised up there!!! It is not my 'favorite' either. But you know, it is one of those things that take me back to India....
Back home, once in a while, my mom would make either curry or these crisps with bitter gourd....under the reason that " it cleans out your system"....."it controls blood sugar"...."its good for you" etc etc. I guess all that was true....but as kids...we hardly understood.
Then there was this chain of stores..."Hot Chips" was the name...they would make literally zillion varieties of chips.....from different veggies and fruits.It was awesome how much variety they had. They also sold these 'Bitter Gourd Chips"...

Ingredients:
1 small bitter gourd
1/4tsp turmeric
1/4tsp chili powder
1 pinch sugar
salt
oil



Method:
1) Slice the bitter gourd as thinly as possible into circles. Hollow out the center and the seeds.
2) On a flat non stick pan heat a thin layer of oil. Arrange the bitter gourd slices on the oil.
3) Season with turmeric, chili powder, salt etc. Let them fry and 'crisp up'.
4) Turn the crisps on the other side.Let it brown and become crisp on very low flame.Press the crisps with flat spatula while they crisp up to squeeze any liquid out.
5) Once they "Crisp up", turn off the flame.

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4 comments:

  1. UnknownJanuary 11, 2010 at 3:02 PM

    majhya mitra chi aai, khobra ghalun hyachi bhaji kartat. toofan lagte, they are from andhra. i never really like the way we make it... as in puneri style.

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  2. Padmaja VaithiJanuary 12, 2010 at 5:35 PM

    Do u always core out the seeds.........we eat those too.
    And also we sprinkle with some salt & let sit for a while maybe one hr or so.....it takes away the bitter edge off & all the excess water. Then we drain away the water, rinse in running water & then add the chili, turmeric, salt(a dash)..... then pan fry.
    Looks like you have Chinese viewers too........

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  3. TinaJanuary 13, 2010 at 2:13 AM

    Crispy bitter gourd with beautiful and tempting clicks...

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  4. DeeptiJanuary 13, 2010 at 10:54 AM

    @Narendra- my mom made bitter gourd curry with coconut as well.But don't know whether it was as good as your friends mom's recipe!
    @BillyBee-sorry but I cannot read your script.Thanks for visiting though!
    @Padma-Sometimes if the seeds are tender we let them be.But otherwise we core them out.We do the draining method as well when making curries.
    @ Tina-Thanks:)

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