CRISPY BITTERGOURD CURRY

CRISPY BITTERGOURD CURRY

Bitter gourd, I think everybody gets finicky about this vegetable sometime or the other. Its not something people happily buy from the grocery store. It’s more like people think about the health benefits of eating this vegetable. Bitter gourd when cooked in different styles changes the dynamics of the taste and could be well loved by the kids. I made a paste of Rice flour and Urad flour and spices and threw in the bitter gourds and fried them and lo and behold there was a crispy delight waiting at the table and my kids loved it and so did my husband and I didn’t know how fast it flew off my table. The secret of the crispiness lies in the Urad flour. Urad flour has a quality which makes everything extra crisp and the flour in itself has a different taste which enhances the taste of the batter.

Ingredients:
Bitter gourd – ½ kilo
Rice flour – 5 tbsp

Urad flour(White lentil flour) – 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder -1/2 tsp
Cumin powder -1tsp

Sambhar powder – 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder:1/2 tsp
Asafoetida – a pinch
Salt as per taste
Oil for deep frying
Method

Cut the bitter gourd in thin semicircle and sprinkle salt and leave it for about an hour
after an hour squeeze out the moisture
In a bowl, take Rice flour, urad flour, add turmeric powder, Red chilly powder, cumin powder, sambhar powder and asafoetida and make a paste, now throw in the bitter gourd rings and mix well.

Heat the oil in a kadai, when the oil is hot drop in the bitter gourds and deep fry them until reddish brown.

Enjoy this crispy delight with Sambar rice.

KAARA VADAI and Awards

KAARA VADAI

This was my grandma’s signature dish, she used to dish out the best Kaara vadais in the world. She was always full of life, she loved it when people visited her and would whirr around the kitchen dishing up some wonderful things. Kaara vadai was one such evening snack. It never happens that we make kaara vadai and don’t think of my grandma. This post is an ode to my grandma who is no more in this world but forever in our hearts and her recipes are a sheer gastronomic indulgence. I wish I had the energy she had, the bounce in her steps, the never-say-never attitude, the zeal for cooking no matter how many people came home. Her initiative and enthusiasm to dish out her famous recipes for all and sundry who visited us, be it the relatives or friends was matchless. I would love to share this recipe keeping in lieu the spirit of sharing that she passed on to us. Enjoy this recipe, make a sizeable number of kaara vadai, you can’t stop with one and you will keep coming back for more of the crispy, karari and lip smackingly delicious bite sized kara vadais. If its leftover, u can put it in sambhar and tastes excellent like sambhar vadai or you can even put it in yogurt (dahi) and trust me it tastes better than Medhu vada or the lentil vadas(bhalle) put in Dahi(Yogurt). Kaara vadais go well with tea. It’s a tea time snack.

Ingredients

Raw rice - 1 cup

Udad Split Black Gram Dal - ½ cup

Chana dal (Bengal Gram) – ¼ cup

Chana dal (Bengal Gram) – 1 tbsp soaked

Green chillies – 7-8

Asafetida – ½ tsp

Salt as per taste

Curry leaves

Oil to fry

Method

Wash well and soak 1 cup raw rice and 1/3 cup urad dhal and ¼ cup chana dal for 2 hrs. Also soak separately 1 tablespoon soaked chana dal.

Drain and grind all the dals along with the green chillies in a wet grinder or mixer except the soaked 1 tbsp chana dal.

Grind into a coarse paste adding salt, asafetida and sufficient water. The batter shouldn’t be very thin or thick just like normal vada batter, it should be to dropping consistency

Now tear some curry leaves and add to the vada batter, also add in the soaked 1 tbsp chana dal and mix well.

Heat oil in a frying pan and when the oil is hot, put small balls of the batter, shouldn’t be too even(very round) while dropping, when dropped unevenly it will be more crispy. Fry the vadas till golden and crisp, remove and drain on a kitchen towel to remove excess oil. Serve hot with coconut chutney or green chutney.

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Thanks Priti, it really boosts me, I would like to share it with some of my blogger friends.

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