Bitter Gourd Kootu

Kakara Kaya Kootu

Bitter gourd - ' Yikes- sooo bitter'. Are you the one who feels this way about this vegetable ? Try this dish. Bitter gourd is one of my favorite vegetable-'Yes,I am right' and the one who made me like it, is my Mom. She used to make dishes out of this vegetable in such a way that anybody who eats will definetly start liking it. And, another thing she used to say about eating this vegetable is that it is good for health and it will remove all the bad stuff in the stomach. I don't know if that's true :-)

Kakara kaya kootu or Noori-pettina pulusu is a regular in my home and is considered a special dish. It is called Noori-pettina pulusu because of the ground-masala coconut paste which is added to the tamarind juice. ' Noori pettadam' traditionally means 'to grind in mortar and pestle' in Telugu.

Ingredients:

2 - Kakara kayalu, Bitter gourd
1/2 cup - Toor dal, kandhi pappu - cooked
1 lemon size - Tamarind
2 tbsp - Peanuts, roasted
1 1/2 tsp - Salt or to taste
1/2 tsp - Turmeric
2 tsp - Oil

For Coconut-masala paste:

1/4 cup - Coconut , grated
1 tbsp - Coriander seeds ( Dhaniyalu)
1 tbsp - Channa dal ( Sanaga pappu)
1/2 tbsp - Urad dal ( Mina pappu)
1/2 tsp - Fenugreek seeds ( Menthulu)
3-4 - Red chillies
pinch of asafoetida

For Tempering :

1 tsp - Mustard seeds ( avaalu, rai)
1 tsp - Urad dal ( mina pappu)
1/2 tsp - Fenugreek seeds ( methulu)
Few curry leaves

Wash and cut Bitter gourd into desired shape, either small squares or circles. Put them in a colander and add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp turmeric and mix well. Keep it aside for about 20-25 mins. Now, take the chopped and soaked bitter gourd into your fist by your hand and squeeze harder to take out the juice from the vegetable. Repeat for the rest of the vegetable.

Note: It is said that the juice which is extracted from the bitter gourd is very good for Diabetics.

Soak tamarind in 1-1/2 cup warm water and make tamarind juice.

In a pan, add 1 tsp oil and fry all the ingredients except coconut, till the dals turns golden brown. Grind everything, along with grated coconut into smooth paste by adding little water when needed.

Now, in a sauce-pan, on medium-high heat, add remaining oil and do the tempering. Add roasted peanuts. Add the bitter gourd and fry for about 1-2 mins. Add the tamarind juice, turmeric, salt and let it boil for 8-9 mins. Add cooked dal and mix well. Add the ground paste and mix well. Make sure there are no lumps. Let it cook for another 5 mins till you get a nice aroma. Turn off the heat.

You can add 1 tsp sugar or jaggery to the kootu, before adding cooked dal and masala paste, to reduce it's bitterness.

Serve hot with rice.


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