Bitter Guard Pitlai

Monday, January 12, 2009

Here is another way of making bitter guard. The ingredients are almost similar to sambar but with the fresh ground spices instead of using readymade sambar powder. since we add Dal also in this it is perfectly healthy dish along with loads of medicinal benefits of Bitter guard.

Ingredients

2 cups of bitter guard chopped into thin round pieces
1 cup Toor Dal
3 whole dried red chillies
1 Tablespoon coriander seeds
1 Tablespoon urud dal
1 Tablespoon Chana dhal (Bengal Gram)
1 teaspoon black pepper corns (reduce if you want less spice)
2 Tablespoons grated coconut
2 Tablespoons thick tamarind paste or tamarind extracted from a big lemon sized tamarind pulp
1 teaspoon oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
pinch of asafoetida
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
salt to taste

Method

1) Pressure cook Toor Dal until it is cooked and keep aside.

2) Dry roast redchillies, lentils (urud dal and chana dal). coriander seeds and black pepper until Dal turns light brown

3) Blend the above dry roasted ingredients with the tamarind paste and coconut into paste by adding 1/4 cup water and keep aside

4) Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds add asafoetida and then add the chopped Bitter guard, turmeric powder. Stir fry for about 5 mins and now add the ground paste along with 2 cups of water and cook until bitter guard is cooked

5) Add the cooked Dal and adjust salt.

This goes well with Hot Rice.

Bitter Gourd Pulusu(Gravy with ground spices)

Friday, January 9, 2009

Here is another way i made Bitter Guard last night. I was reading in the net about the uses of bitter guard and decided I should start eating once in a week. I usually make dry curry or stuffed curry with bitter guard but yesterday i want some what gravy to eat with Sangati and made this. I felt the bitterness was very much tolerable. I did not add jaggery which would have reduced the bitterness further. Usually I cook food which takes less time and easy to make. I think just cutting vegetables is the main time taking process here. Here is the recipe

Go through this for Bitter Gourd or Bitter Melon Medicinal uses

Ingredients

2 cups of bitter Melon sliced
1 cup onions sliced
2 cups of tomatoes sliced
1/4th cup Tamarind paste
1 " piece ginger
3 to 4 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste

spices

3 to 4 whole red chillies
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
4 to 5 cloves
1 " cinnamon stick
pinch of asafoetida
Method

1) Cook sliced bitter guard with 1/2 tsp turmeric powder in 2 cups of water until they are somewhat cooked and soft but need not cook completely. I just cooked in microwave for 8 mins

2) Heat 1tsp oil in a pan, splutter cumin seeds and add all the remaining spices and fry for 30 seconds and then add onions and fry for 4 to5 mins until they turn light brown. Add tomatoes, ginger and garlic and cook for 3 to 4 mins and cool it and grind to a smooth paste

3) Now mix the ground paste and cooked bitterguard, tamarind paste and salt and cook until the bitter guard is completly cooked.

this goes well with Hot rice or sangati.

We (me and my sister) really enjoyed this with sangati and even my husband had nicely with white rice and he suggested me to make "Bitter guard pitlai" which I am going to try in next 2 days and post the recipe :-)

Notes:

Add jaggery to reduce the bitterness further