STUFFED BITTER GOURD!

For past two weeks I was so tired of everything blogging, studying, traveling. I just felt like getting away from everything. So took a long break and feel so refreshed now. All I did was update something in my creative blog. That’s it! But it’s better to come back after a break because it gives a clear mind to start something fresh.

I love trying different recipes apart from the food prepared at my home. My maid is a very good cook too. She’s a maharashtrian and whenever she prepares something different she gets it for me and my friend to taste. She had prepared this stuffed bitter gourd and I liked it so much that I asked her for the recipe. Trust me all those people who don’t like to eat bitter gourd will atleast eat the veggie for this recipe. Good example, my hubby! Can you believe it he did not even know what the veggie is, until I told him? I kept telling him its karela (hindi). He did not know what that was until I said its haagal kayi (kannada). Imagine the expression on his face! He was so impressed that it was bitter gourd and he knew nothing about it.

Stuffed Bitter gourd (Serves 3)

Ingredients:
Bitter gourd – 4

For grinding:
Coconut - ½ Cup
Ground nuts – 1 handful
Coriander leaves – 1 tbl spn
Tomato – 2
Garlic – 4-5 flakes (Optional …although I think adding garlic definitely helps in terms of taste and health wise)
Red chilli powder – 2 tspns
Turmeric – 1 tspn for boiling and 1 tspn for the ground paste
Salt to taste
Oil – 3 tbl spns

Preparation:
1. Cut bitter gourd in half and slit one side.
2. Scoop out the seeds. Boil them in water with salt and turmeric until the bitter gourd becomes soft and cooked. This process is approximately 15 mins.
3. Roast ground nuts without oil in small pan on a low flame.
4. Grind tomatoes, coconut, coriander leaves, garlic and the roasted nuts. Take out the paste to a bowl and add salt, chilli powder, turmeric and curry leaves to it.
5. Stuff this ground paste inside the bitter gourd. You will have more ground paste left for the amount I have mentioned.
6. Take Oil in a pan; place the bitter gourds one by one in the pan. Add the rest of the paste in the pan. Fry on each side for 5 mins.
7. Fry till the raw smell of the paste goes. Check for salt again at this point. Add more if required.

8. Fry in simmer for 10 mins until the bitter gourd takes all the juice.

This dish goes well with rice/dhal combination or rice/rasam combination and chapathis too!