Dish of Bitter Gourd Curry
(click to enlarge)

Bitter Gourd Curry


India, Chettinad, Tamil Nadu   -   Pagarkai Pitlay
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 2-1/2 #
***
1-1/3 hrs
Yes		 An interesting vegetable curry including the medicinal properties and attractive taste of Bitter Melon, but see Comments.

6
1/2
1-3/4
2
1
8
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1
1/2
1
1
6
1
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2
1/2
1
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2
20
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1
1/4
sprig
2
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8
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oz
c
c
oz
c
oz
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T
t
t
t

t
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t
t
t
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t
t
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T
t

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oz
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Bitter Gourd (1)
Toor Dal (2)
Water
Tamarind (3)
Water, warm
Tomato
-- Spices
Coriander seed
Peppercorn, blk
Chana Dal (4)
Urad Dal (5)
Chili, red dry (6)  
Salt
-- Seasonings
Sambar Powder (7)
Turmeric
Jaggery (8)
-- Garnish
Ghee or Oil
Cashew halves
-- Tempering
Mustard seed (9)
Asafoetida (10)
Curry Leaves (11)
Oil
-- Finish
Coconut Milk (12)
------------
Do Ahead   -   (50 min - 5 min work)
  1. Wash Toor Dal and place in a pan with about 1-1/2 cups of Water. Bring to a boil uncovered (or it'll foam over). Simmer covered over low flame for about 45 minutes until the Dal is tender. Be sure it doesn't run low on water, there should still be a fair amount when it is done. Set aside.
PREP   -   (45 min)
  1. Cut up TAMARIND as best you can and pour over 1 cup of Warm Water. Let sit for at least 20 minutes. Force through a strainer, discarding all the solids.
  2. Cut BITTER GOURD in half lengthwise, scoop out seed mass, and slice thin crosswise.
  3. Scald TOMATOES one minute in boiling water. Quench in cold water and peel. Chop fine.
  4. Separately dry toast all Spices items and pour out on a plate to cool. Then grind all together. Just toast Coriander and Pepper until aromatic. The two Dals should be toasted to a light golden color. The Chilis should have plenty of dark splotches, but no burning.
  5. Mix all Seasonings items.
  6. For Garnish: in a very small pan, heat Ghee and fry Cashew Halves stirring until light golden. Set the pan aside to use for the Tempering step.
  7. Mix all Tempering items except Oil.
RUN   -   (35 min)
  1. In a spacious sauté pan or wok, place Tamarind Juice. Bring to a boil over moderate heat. Add Bitter Gourd and Seasonings mix. Simmer over low heat until the Gourd is tender, around 15 minutes.
  2. Stir in Tomatoes and Spices mix and return to a simmer for a minute or so.
  3. Stir in cooked Toor Dal and stir gently until well distributed.
  4. In a very small pan, heat 2 t Oil and stir in Tempering mix, carefully as the Curry Leaves will pop and spit for a few seconds. When the Mustard Seeds are popping well, stir into the Curry.
  5. When ready to serve, bring it up to a simmer. Stir in Coconut Milk and take off the heat.
  6. Serve with plenty of steamed Jasmine rice (Thai Jasmine is closer to the rice used in Tamil Nadu than Basmati is). This dish reheats well, but don't bring quite to a boil.
NOTES:

  1. Bitter Gourd:

      Weight is for a whole gourd, as purchased. Here I presume the common smoothly warty Chinese style. The pattern recipe clearly calls for the sharply warty Indian style, and rather small ones. She calls for "2 or 3 (125 grams)" and doesn't mentioning seeding them. If you use those, you may want to cut back an ounce or so, as they are more bitter. For details see our Bitter Melon / Bitter Gourd page.

  2. Toor Dal:

      [Tovar Dal, Red Gram, Arhar]   This is split and peeled Pigeon Peas, available in any market serving an Indian community. For details see our Pigeon Peas page.

  3. Tamarind:

      Weight and instruction presumes Block Form. If you are using Concentrate, mix 2 ounces with 1/2 cup water. For details see our Tamarind page.

  4. Chana Dal:

    This is split and peeled Bengal Gram (Desi type Chickpeas). For details see our Chickpeas (Bengal / Desi type) page.

  5. Urad Dal:

      This tiny white dal is split and peeled urad beans (black gram). It is easily available in any market serving an Indian community. If you don't have it, leaving it out will not make a lot of difference. For details see our Urad Beans page.

  6. Chili, Dry Red:

      I suggest the standard Japones here. For details see our Indian Chilis page.

  7. Sambar Powder:

      This is an important masala in southern India. It can be purchased, but is better made at home. Here is our recipe Sambar Powder.

  8. Jaggery:

      optional, see Comments. This is unrefined cane sugar sold in cakes. If you don't have it, use some other partially refined sugar or omit it.

  9. Mustard Seeds:

      In India, Black Mustard Seeds are always used. If you have only Yellow, they will work but pop more violently and at a slightly lower temperature.

  10. Asafoetida - Hing:

      This is the resin of a giant fennel plant, used in India by sects forbidden to eat onions or garlic.   Caution: there are two forms: Pure Hing (asafoetida beads or ground) and the more common "Hing Powder". The "powder" is heavily cut with rice flour. The amount given here is for pure asafoetida. Use about 3 times as much if what you have is the "powder" form, and stir into temperings at the last moment. For details see our Asafoetida page.

  11. Curry Leaves:

      These fresh leaves are necessary for the true flavor of southern India, and are now reasonably available in Indian and Southeast Asian markets, at least here in California. Dried ones aren't of much use (unless you force dried them yourself within a couple weeks). If you don't have them you will have to leave them out - there is no acceptable substitute. Use caution with how many you use, because some people don't like the resinous taste. For details see our Curry Leaves page.

  12. Coconut Milk:

      Use a high quality "full cream" coconut such as Aroy-D from Thailand. This will provide the "thick coconut milk" called for by the pattern recipe. Shake it up well before adding to the recipe, especially if using a partial can.

  13. Comments:

      The pattern recipe called for 1 Tablespoon of Jaggery (sugar), which I thought excessive and cut it in half. That turned out to be still excessive, so I've cut it to a teaspoon and consider it optional. Two things going here - Asians are sugar junkies, and they like Bitter Melon, but keep trying to reduce its biterness with sweet. This recipe already makes the bitterness very slight without any sugar. The pattern recipe called for 1-1/2 cups of grated fresh coconut, to soak in hot water, run in a processor, and squeeze for the "thick coconut milk". I chose to use an 8 ounce can of Aroy-D coconut milk, which is plenty "thick".
  14. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch tt=to taste ar=as required
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