the very thought of karela (bittergourd) used to send shivers through my spine. obnoxious and repulsive,i thought.i just could not stomach such a bitter vegetable.that was when i was young.what a difference age makes to a person.nowadays i love them.i take karela juice,fried karela wafers,shukto and karela saambhar which is my favourite.
if you wish to try paavakkai saambhar,here is aandal paatti's recipe.though not exactly for this type of saambhar.gb,our cook,however confirms that the end result would be the same.and it was.
1) wash red gram dal and add 1/2 cup of water and cook in a pressure cooker.
2) cut bittergourd into small round rings and onion too.
3) soak tamarind in 1/2 cup warm water. extract the juice into a thick bottom vessel. add another cup of water to the pulp and extract the juice again. add salt,sambhar powder,turmeric powder and asfoetida powder. heat and bring to boil.
4) add 10-15 pieces of cut vegetables. a green chilli can be added.place a long handle ladle in the vessel and allow it to simmer.
5) when the vegetables are cooked add the cooked dal and asfoetida powder. mix well. bring to boil and boil for a few minutes,stirrring often making sure that the dal does not srick to the bottom.
6) heat the oil in a kadai,splutter the mustard seeds and then add the fenugreek seeds and fry it dark brown,add the curry leaves,stir and add to the saambhar.
7) garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
voila,the saambhar is now ready to be served.enjoy the karela and keep your diabetes under check!
6 comments:
i dislike karela but little gaia loves it!
btw, uncle, thanks for that post on herbal rasgullas!
hi rums
shubho bijouya! and a flying kiss to gaia for being a true bengali.
have you tried the herbal rosogollas? best wishes.
gopal uncle.
Hi GS,
Yes I like this karela very much! Particularly the way my friend prepares it stewed with other vegetables and some spices. Quite simply but with enough other flavors for the bitterness to mix well.
Leaves me feeling refreshed.
hello david
preparing karela curry or saambhar or just fried karela at home is not very easy if you want to reduce the bitterness.you have got to soak it in salt water for some time and then later dry it and cook it.mixed with onion the bitterness is reduced.we love karela onion fried as well as karela onion bhajji.
Hello sir,
That was a good recipe. Will definitely try. I recently tried this one.
Marinate karela for half n hour in salt, red chilli powder, haldi and 1 tsp oil. Then bake it at 190c for 12mins and grill/broil for 5 mins.
They turn out real crisp and tasty.
Hope you like it.
Sushama
hello sushma
many thanks for the recipe.will try it out soon.
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