Haagalakai/Bitter Gourd Palya: Bitter is Better...

Haagalakai/Bitter Gourd Palya

… Said smiling grandmother to her little grand daughter who, as usual, was perched on kitchen counter as she watched her Ajji chop bitter gourds for that day’s meal. ‘Bitter’ isn’t something that little girls liked and her feelings were painted clearly on her face when she twitched her nose in distaste and deep frown was formed between her dark brows. “Think of it, it isn’t for bitter you would never have appreciated the sweetness of one’s life”, said grandmother with knowing look on her serene face.

A wise word from a wise person who had experienced many highs and lows in her seventy five years of life and yet eager to embrace all life had to offer to her! That was my Ajji, an anchor in my life who showed me to slow down, look around, think and learn before diving into next adventure that life offered! Thanks to her guiding light, I have grown to face every bitter or sweet thing that life has to offer and appreciate the lessons they teach and not to shy away from them.

Astounding isn’t it? Even bitter gourd can take me down the memory lane! Is it just me or I am fortunate to have some company here? It’s simply amazing to see how food is interwoven in our paste, present and even future! And you needn’t be rocket scientist to guess we have bitter gourd recipe in today’s menu.

Haagalakai/Bitter Gourd Palya

I learnt this recipe of Bitter Gourd or Hagalalakai Palya from my mom-in-law during our last trip to India. Since soon after our wedding I moved to UK, I hardly got any time to spend with my in-laws. So it is during our month long trip to India every year I try to learn as many recipes as possible in brief period of time as my dear MIL cooks one delicious dish after another. Every year I look forward to a month long of relishing all delicacies cooked by my Amma and Atte. Well, doesn’t it feel great to be pampered and spoiled by your loved ones? And what better than food, which IMHO, is the best way to shower someone with all that love and affection!

Coming back to recipe part, I was surprised to see how simple this bitter gourd recipe was and when my MIL mentioned she cooked it in microwave, I couldn’t wait any longer to learn it and try it. The main attraction of this recipe is its simplicity and, of course, its taste. Yes, you heard it right. You many be surprised at how good bitter gourd can taste when cooked right with right ingredients. The roasted spices and coconut is nothing short of cherry on top of already amazing cake. I don’t have to stress the importance of bitter Rasa/taste in Ayurveda and the medicinal benefits of bitter gourd is better than any sinful cakes/chocolates for your well being. Since the ingredients used as Satvik in nature, they are not only good for your body but excellent for your taste buds. While jaggary adds sweetness, tamarind pulp gives it a sour note. Selected aromatic roasted spices with dry red chillies gives the curry heady aroma and hint of spicy taste and coconut simply takes this curry to next level of flavour sensation! And the best thing is yet to come. Since the spices are roasted along with coconut and the bitter gourd is cooked with tamarind and jaggary, this curry can be refrigerated for over a week without any fear of it getting spoiled. Remember to consume this curry in moderation as bitter gourd taken in overdose may result in heartburns.

Bitter Gourd for Haagalakai/Bitter Gourd Palya

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Haagalakai/Bitter Gourd Palya (Bitter Gourd Fry with Tamarind, Jaggary and Coconut)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 25-30 mins
Serves: 4-6
Recipe Source: MIL
Recipe Level: Basic/Beginner to Medium
Spice Level: Medium
Serving Suggestion: With steam cooked Rice

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Ingredients:
2 medium Bitter Gourds, sliced length wise, seeds removed and cut into 1 cm cubes
1 medium lime sized Tamarind Pulp, soaked in ½ cup of hot water and juice extracted
2-3 tbsp Jaggary/Palm Sugar
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
Salt to taste

For Roasted Spices & Coconut Paste:
1-1½ tbsp White Sesame Seeds
½ tbsp Urad Dal/Split black Lentils
1 tbsp Coriander Seeds
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
2-4 Dry Red Chillies, halved (Adjust acc to taste)
½ cup fresh/frozen grated Coconut

For Tadka/Tempering:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 Dried Red Chilli, broken into 1 inch pieces
A big pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
Few Curry Leaves
½ tbsp Oil

Roasted Spices & Coconut for Haagalakai/Bitter Gourd Palya

Method:

Preparing Bitter Gourd:
Take chopped bitter gourd pieces in a colander and mix well with about 1 tsp of salt. Place a bowl of water (that fits well in colander) on top of colander containing bitter gourds. Keep this aside for at least 30 mins near sink. This way some of bitter juices from bitter gourd will be released.

For Roasted Spices & Coconut Paste:
Heat a pan and add urad dal, white sesame seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and dry red chillies on medium to low flame till nice aroma of roasted spices comes and dal turns golden red in colour, about 3 mins. Transfer these roasted spices to clean and dry plate.
In a same pan dry roast fresh or thawed frozen coconut till it turns light golden, about 1-2 mins, on medium-low flame. Transfer these contents to roasted spices and let them cool slightly.
Next transfer all these roasted spices and coconut into a food processor and grind them to smooth paste without adding any water. Keep it aside till needed.

Roasted Spices & Coconut Powder for Haagalakai/Bitter Gourd Palya

Cooking Bitter Gourd in Microwave:
Take bitter gourd pieces along with jaggary, tamarind extract and salt to taste in a microwave safe bowl with lid. Add about ¼-½ cup of water and close the lid. Cook this in microwave for 10 mins.
Open the lid and mix all the ingredients and cover and cook for another 5-10 minutes till the bitter gourd is almost cooked.
Now add ground roasted spice and coconut paste and mix well. Cook uncovered for another 7-10 minutes till all water evaporated and the palya looks dry.

For Tadka/Tempering:
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds to it. When mustard starts to pop and splutter, add dry red chilli, hing and curry leaves. Sauté it for around 30 seconds and transfer the contents to Bitter Gourd Palya. Mix them well before serving it hot or cold along with a bowl of freshly steam cooked Rice and enjoy this bitter goodness!

Haagalakai/Bitter Gourd Palya

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Notes:

Since the spices are roasted along with coconut and the bitter gourd is cooked with tamarind and jaggary, this curry can be refrigerated for over a week without any fear of it getting spoiled.
Remember to consume this curry in moderation as bitter gourd taken in overdose may result in heartburns.

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Revisiting Recipes from the Past

It's been more than year and a half since I wrote my first post in this blog and it's been one roller coaster ride. I had my ups and downs. Made many good friends with whom I share wonderful friendship not just online but offline too. My heartfelt thanks to each and every readers of Monsoon Spice who made this blogging experience worth to be cherished. But now the time has come to say Good Bye to all. This is my last post on Monsoon Spice. For some personal reasons I wont be blogging anymore. I had been thinking about it for a long time and I finally decided to make it official today. Thank you each and everyone for all the love, friendship, and support you have given me so far. I'll always cherish your friendship.

Before I bid my farewell, I would like to share few recipes from my archives with you all. I am sending these two favourites recipes of mine for two events.

Veg Balls in Garlic Sauce is one of our favourite Indo-Chinese food and it goes to Mathy who is guest hosting this month's JFI-Garlic.


Another simple yet delicious recipe of Baked Bitter Gourd Chips goes to my dear friend Pooja's VOW-Bitter Gourd Event.


Well, this is it!!! It feels strange but I have no other option. I don't know if I'll ever resume blogging. Once again my heartfelt thanks to each and everyone... Good bye Friends....

Cheers
Sia













Ooops... I almost forgot to wish you... Happy April Fools Day :) Wish I could really see some of your faces right now ;)
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Bitter Love: Bitter Gourd Saaru & Chips

Bitter Gourd Marinated in Salt

Bitter gourd, either you love it or hate it. I have seen many people who initially hated this bitter, odd looking vegetable and lately fall in love with it. It takes many meals over years to develop a taste for Hagalakai, as we call it. But there are some who still don't seem to come in terms with this vegetable even after they have had upgraded their wardrobe from sneakers to tailor-made pants;) Unlike my siblings, who are still struggling to acquire taste for this vegetable, I have grown up appreciating its rich bitter and pungent flavour for some strange reasons which are unknown to me. I was always a picky eater as a kid and my love for this bitter vegetable was unsolved mystery to my parents. Every fortnight my Amma made it a point to cook some bitter vegetables and bitter gourd always topped the list. We always had bumper crop of bitter gourd growing in backyard and hence there was no chance of Appa pretending to have amnesia when asked to buy them. The vegetable is reported to be a blood purifier, digestion enhancer and stimulating agent of liver. And now when your read how good Bitter Gourd is for your health, all grown-up and mature ME (!!!???) can’t ignore it right? No fat chance!

When my sister and brother would run a mile at the bare mention of this vegetable, I would happily lick my plate clean whenever Amma made Bitter Gourd dish. One such recipe from my mother’s large collection is Hagalakai Saaru, roughly translated as Bitter Gourd Rasam where bitter taste of Bitter Gourd is lightly concealed with the sweet Jaggary, sour Tamarind and spicy blend of spices. This mixture of five flavours- bitter, sweet, sour, salty and spicy defines the taste of life in a bowl. I love to eat this lightly bitter, spicy, tangy, sweet Saaru with aromatic Basmati rice with a dollop of Ghee and Tender Mango Pickle.

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Bitter Gourd Saaru
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20-25 mins
Serves: 4-5

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Ingredients:
2 medium Bitter Gourd
1 medium Onion, finely chopped
½ tbsp Garlic, finely chopped (Optional)
2 Green Chilli, slit
½ inch Ginger, crushed and chopped
1 small Lime sized Tamarind
1-2 tbsp Jaggery (Adjust acc to taste)
½ - 1 tbsp Rasam Powder
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
¼ tsp Chilli Powder (Optional)
1 tbsp Coriander Leaves, chopped
Salt to taste

For Tempering:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 Dry Red Chilli
A big pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
Few Curry Leaves
1 tbsp Oil

Bitter Gourd Saaru

Method:
Cut thin round slices of bitter gourd, about 1 packed cup, and add little salt to it. Mix well and keep it aside for at least 30 mins. This way the bitter taste of bitter gourd will be released from them.
After 30 minutes or so squeeze as much of water as possible from these bitter gourd slices. Wash them with cold water and drain and keep aside.
Mean while, soak tamarind in hot water for about 10 minutes and extract its juice and keep it aside.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds to it. When mustard starts to pop and splutter, add halved dry red chilli, hing and curry leaves. Sauté it for few seconds.
Mix chopped onion, garlic and sauté on medium flame till they leave raw smell and lightly browned.
Add slit green chillies, bitter gourd slices, ginger and mix well. Keep sautéing for about 5 minutes till bitter gourd turns light brown.
Mix in tamarind juice, about 1 cup of water, jaggery, turmeric powder and salt to taste. Bring the mixture to gentle boil at medium flame.
If required add more water and add rasam powder and red chilli powder. Check for the seasoning and make changes according to taste. Cook on a low to medium flame for another 5 minutes and bring it to boil.
Switch off the flame and add chopped coriander leaves. Cover and let it sit for about 10 mins for the flavours to blend well. Serve hot with steaming bowl of rice and pickle and enjoy this bitter goodness.

Another recipe I tried over weekend was Kay’s No Fry Bitter Gourd Chips. Being a bitter gourd fanatic I couldn’t resist trying this recipe which is not just simple to make but also uses very less oil and not much work is involved. I made little changes to the ingredients used and simply followed her recipe. Thank you Kay for this wonderful recipe. Try them to see how good they are.

Bitter Gourd Slices Marinated with Spices

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No Fry Bitter Gourd Chips
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
2 Bitter Gourds
1-2 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder (adjust acc to taste)
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
¼ tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder (Optional)
Salt to taste

No Fry Bitter Gourd Chips

Method:
Slice bitter gourd to thin round slices using mandolin or knife.
Mix in oil, chilli powder, turmeric powder, amchur and salt and marinate for at least half an hour.
Pre-heat the oven at 375 F. Arrange the slices neatly in rows, on a foil covered baking tray and bake it in a middle rack of the oven for about 10 mins. Place the tray on top rack for 3-5 mins so that chips becomes crisp and brown or else broil them. Watch them closely and make sure that they don’t get burned.
That’s it. Serve bitter gourd chips with Rice and Rasam and enjoy.

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