Bittergourd/Karela/Hagalakayi Gojju

Hi friends I am back after a long break...hope to stay and never take a break  again.. I am starting with bittergourd dish.. Hagalakayi  as you all know bitter in taste hence the name bitter gourd.It is not a favourite vegetable to all especially kids.As a kid even I used to hate it too but as I get older I used to like the taste of it. All the credit goes to my Grand mother and my mother because they used to make it so tasty.As the elders used to say all good things doesn't taste good but it is good for you likewise it is good for health.It regulates blood sugar level,purifies blood,antiviral  when it is included in regular diet.It is good for diabetic people so friends i want to share my family recipe of Hagalakayi gojju with you.Enjoy...

  

Ingredients:
Hagalakayi/Karela-1/2kg
Onion-1 big
Tomato-2
Fresh coconut-1/4cup
Sambhar powder-2tsp
Tamarind juice-1tbsp
Jaggery-2tsp or to taste
Salt to taste
Curry leaves-few
Turmeric-1/4tsp
Mustard-1/2tsp
Oil-1tbsp

Method:
1.Wash and Hagalakayi into roundels,remove pith and seeds from the middle.
2.Fry them with little oil and turmeric until golden brown and raw smell of the hagalakayi is gone.
3.Chop the onions and tomatoes roughly and reserve 1tbsp of onions for tempering.
4.Grind coconut,onion,one tomato and sambhar powder into fine paste adding little water.
5.Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds,when they began to pop add reserved onions and fry until golden brown,add curry leaves and chopped tomatoes,fry until tomatoes becomes soft.
6.Now add fried hagalakayi and masala paste with a cup of water and salt to taste close the lid and leave it to cook on low medium heat.
7.When hagalakayi becomes soft and gravy thickens, add tamarind juice and jaggery mix well allow to cook for 5 minutes.Add water if need.
Serve hot with Chappatis or rice,it goes very well with akki rotti.

Note:

To extract tamarind juice,take lemon sized portion of tamarind.
wash once in clean water and in a microwave safe bowl add 1/4
cup of water add tamarind in a bowl and microwave it for 1 minute
and leave it to cool and squeeze the pulp of  tamarind nicely with hand
and separate the pulp and discard,reserve the juice.