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Bitter gourd in Fusion Spicy Tangy coconut Gravy

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Have you ever heard of curry that has lingering taste like good beer. If not then there is answer that this curry will have lingering taste. According to my hubby good beer means you should feel the lingering taste after having it. He told me the same while taste testing this curry.

This curry looks like our Palakkad sambar. Sambar is a lentils and vegetable in spicy gravy curry made in two different forms in Kerala. People from Southern Kerala don’t add any coconut while people from Palakkad area add ground coconut paste to their sambar. Without sambar life is impossible for a south Indian. Every family has their own spice mix, amma used to make her spice mix. Now a day’s making spice mix is out of question. I usually buy it from the store. However, this curry differs from Palakkad sambar as they don’t add fennel in their coconut paste and also have no toor dal in it.
However, Kara kuzhambu, speciality of neigbouring state Tamil Nadu is a spicy tangy curry and comes out of Chettinad cuisine.. It is one of the spiciest, aromatic and oiliest cuisines of South India. I love kara kuzhambu a lot, however making in home is not possible as my hubby doesn’t like too much spices. Occasionally I make them. Usually kara kuzhambu contains, onion, tomato, garlic and tamarind and sambar powder. However I changed sambar powder part and added vathal kuzhambu powder.
You can say this curry is a result of the fusion of three curries, vathal kuzhambu, kara kuzhambu and poricha kuzhambu. If you look at each of them, they are very different in taste and looks, however I combined vathal kuzhambu powder with kara kuzhambu onion, tomato and garlic, tamarind with poricha kuzhambu coconut and fennel. The end result was an awesome curry. Give it a try. If you don’t have vathal kuzhambu powder try it with our sambar powder. You don’t even feel the bitterness of bitter gourd (I can’t say completely gone, since it is bitter gourd and it needs to leaves some mark). From this I learnt that fusion is not always bad. It is good sometimes. Here goes the recipe
Print recipe from here

What you need

Bitter gourd/Pavakkai: 3 no (deseeded and chopped into cubes)
Onion: 1 no (chopped finely)
Garlic : 3 cloves
Tomato: 1 no( Chopped into cubes)
Tamarind: small ping pong size
Salt: 1 teaspoon or to taste
Vathal kuzhambu powder; 1 tablespoon
Freshly grated coconut: 3 tablespoon
Red chilies: 2 no
Curry leaves: 1 sprig( 10 nos)
Mustard seeds: ½ teaspoon
Cumin seeds: ¼ teaspoon
Fennel seeds: ½ teaspoon
Turmeric powder: ¼ teaspoon
Raw rice: 1 teaspoon
Asafetoida: ¼ teaspoon
Oil: 2 tablespoon
Water: 21/2 cup

How I Made

Heat 1 ½ tablespoon oil in a medium sauce pot and add onion and fry them until it become translucent. It takes about 6 minutes. Then add chopped garlic cloves and fry for 2 minutes. To this add chopped bitter gourd, ½ teaspoon salt, turmeric and fry for another 5 minutes. To this add tomato and cook for another 3 minutes. Then add 1 cup of water and cook for 6 minutes or until bitter gourd pieces are well done. 
In the mean time grind coconut, cumin, fennel seeds and rice into fine paste with ½ cup of water and set aside.
Extract the juice from the tamarind in ½ cup of water by microwaving on high for 15 seconds and strain it. Set aside.
Add tamarind juice to bitter gourd-onion-tomato garlic mixture and bring it to boil. 
To above mixture add ground coconut-cumin-fennel seed paste along with  half cup water and again bring it to boil .Check salt add if needed.
In small pan heat ½ teaspoon oil and add mustard seeds once it starts splutters add halved red chilies and asafetodia and curry leaves and switch off the flame. Add this mixture to cooked bitter gourd curry.
Enjoy with rice and a curry. 

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 serving
Verdict: Tasty curry
Will you make it again: Yes I will .

Swathi

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  1. keri says

    This is way too perfect! I definitely love it! Thanks a lot for sharing! I am going to try this one later.
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    Reply

  2. indianspicemagic says

    I love bitter gourd... Nice dish.

    Reply

  3. RAKS KITCHEN says

    Thats a great way to cook bitter gourd! Looks and sounds great!

    Reply

  4. Adelina says

    It is a shame that I haven't cooked with bitter gourds yet, and this is a great recipe to start with- love your mise en place, as usual!

    Reply

  5. Fathima says

    perfect way to prepare bitter gourd and get that into your diet... am sure this prep would do away the bitter taste of the veggie!

    Reply

  6. Faith says

    I definitely need to try this curry! Your description of it is fantastic! Great use for bitter gourd too.

    Reply

  7. sanjeeta kk says

    Lovely makeover for bitter guard!

    Reply

  9. Parita says

    thats a delicious curry u made from bitter gourd!

    Reply

  10. Jen says

    Interesting girl - thanks for teaching us 🙂 now i learn something new - although I hardly eat curry because its quite spicy - but I only have it once in awhile when I crave for it!

    have a lovely thanksgiving weekend!
    jen @ http://www.passion4food.ca

    Reply

  11. Reeni says

    That must be a very good compliment Swathi! I have never had bitter gourd but would like to try it - your dish looks delicious!

    Reply

  12. Ameya says

    This curry looks and sounds extremely flavorful! I'd love to taste it even though I'm not usually a fan of bitter gourd!

    Reply

  13. Cooking Gallery says

    This looks totaly delicious! I hardly ever use bitter gourds. I think this is a great way to use them. Thanks for sharing :)!

    Reply

  14. Sayantani says

    great way to enjoy bitter gourd. very new and very refreshing.

    Reply

  15. Magia da Inês says

    ♥ Olá, amiga!
    Passei para uma visitinha...♥♥
    Hummmmmmmm!... isso é tudo de bom!...♥
    Beijinhos.
    ♥ Bom fim de semana!
    ♥♥ Itabira, que hoje completa mais uma primavera...
    Brasil♥♥
    ✿ܓܓ✿ܓ✿ܓ

    Reply

  17. Priya says

    Thats a droolworthy gravy, looks super delicious and very interesting..

    Reply

  18. Joanne says

    Given how much all my friends LOVE beer, I am SO going to have to make this for them! Sounds delicious.

    Reply

  19. Sushma Mallya says

    Yummy,love the gravy..

    Reply

  20. Rachel says

    Anything similar to smabar and it is a yes for me.

    Reply

  21. aipi says

    Bitter gourds got a marvelous makeover here..awesome combo of flavors..must try!

    US Masala

    Reply

  22. Rosa's Yummy Yums says

    That looks very yummy! I've never had bitter gurd....

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    Reply

  23. Kairali sisters says

    Bittergourd is my fav too...will surely try soon...

    Reply

  24. Yummy Team says

    Bitter gourd is our fav veggie..This curry looks very delicious!! Totally loved the recipe..

    Reply

  25. Nitha says

    Looks delicious..

    Reply

  26. divya says

    looks super tasty & colorful.

    Reply

  27. reciperoll.com says

    Nice curry n new to me...

    Reply

  30. Hamaree Rasoi says

    Gravy looks delicious. Must have tasted great as well.

    Deepa
    Hamaree Rasoi

    Reply

  31. Silence Sings says

    Karela is very regular in my kitchen....but never tired this kind of dish....sounds interesting....keeping the list....

    Reply

  32. kothiyavunu.com says

    Wow.. this is really a tasty & delicious curry My DH being a great fan of bittergourd would love this for sure 🙂

    Reply

  33. Pushpa says

    An awesome dish...

    Pushpa @ simplehomefood.com

    Reply

  34. Satya says

    wow what a combination of flavors n that to with bitter gourd ...i must try this as bitter gourd is my hubbies favorite ..thanks swathi

    Satya
    http://www.superyummyrecipes.com

    Reply

  35. srividhya Ravikumar says

    wow..looks lovely..

    Reply

  36. Priscilla says

    yum yummmm.. perfect, just perfect!!

    Have a great day!
    Priscilla

    Reply

  37. sinfullyspicy says

    karela with coconut milk & tamarind sounds good...no matter with that mellowing down of bitterness it will have a lingering taste! Very lovely recipe!

    Reply

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