Bitter Gourd Curry

Curry is an anglicised form of the Tamil word Ka?i meaning ‘sauce’ or gravy that uses the leaves of the curry tree (Murraya koenigii). As you will see below, there are numerous varieties of curries described in the Bhaga Shastra. Ka?i is described in a mid-17th century Portuguese cookbook by members of the British East India Company, who were trading with Tamil merchants along the Coromandel Coast of southeast India. Curry uses a complex combination of spices or herbs, that is ground to a powder or paste. A basic curry will contain turmeric, cumin, coriander, fresh or dried chilies. Curry is generally prepared into a sauce or gravy. Curry dishes prepared in the southern states of India, end with a
seasoning of curry leaves, mustard, cumin, and asafetida (where required). The mention of chillies in the many recipes of the Bhaga Shastra is a clear indication that this spice has existed in India for atleast 60,000 years, much before the invading Europeans came to plunder India. And therefore, was not introduced into the sub- continent by the Portuguese, as is widely claimed.

There are many varieties of curries. For example, in traditional cuisines, the precise selection of spices for each dish varies as per regional and cultural tradition, religious practice, and, also sometimes, family preferences. These dishes are called by specific names that refer to their ingredients, spicing, and cooking methods. Spices in curries are used both whole and ground, cooked or raw, and they are added at different times during the cooking process to produce different results. The main spices found in most curry powders of the Indian subcontinent are coriander, cumin, and turmeric. A wide range of additional spices are included depending on the geographic region and the foods being included.

Curries can be dry or wet. Dry curries are cooked with very little liquid which is allowed to evaporate, leaving the other ingredients coated with the spice mixture. Wet curries are sauce or gravy based where the spices are ground to a paste with coconut, tamarind and the like or thickened with coconut milk, legume purée, yogurt/curd, etc. used as a relish for rice. The well known Madras Curry Powder, consumed hugely in the West, is an invention of the British who became enamored by the spicy, tangy dishes of South India, during the rule of the East India Company. This curry powder is a diluted version of the kari powder, made to suit the bland palate of the West. The curry powders are thought to have first been prepared by Indian merchants for sale to members of the British Colonial government and army returning to Great Britain.

Curry originally referred to vegetarian gravy dishes in India. But today the word has a wide application, across vegetarian and non-vegetarian gravy dishes in most of Asia, and the dishes invented (fusing in local recipes, herbs and spices) and consumed by the Indian diaspora spread across Africa, the Caribbean islands, Australia, US and Europe.

1. Remove the stem and edges of the bitter gourd and cut into strips and put it in a lead coated vessel. If the bitter gourd is too ripe then discard the seed. Cut the lemon and extract the juice and mix it with the bitter gourd.

2. To that add salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder and gently mix and keep it for 1 hour. The mixture will leave water. After 1 hour squeeze the water out . By doing this we can take out the bitterness from the gourd or take ½ padi water with ½ padi salt and ½ padi tamarind and
squeeze it.

3. Now boil this mixture and put the bitter gourd and cook it. Then discard the water and rinse the gourd with good water. We can use either of the ways to get rid of the bitterness.

4. Take the ghee or oil in a vessel which has not become sticky by frequent cooking and heat it. Then temper with chilli, black gram, mustard seed as described in recipe no. 22nd. Add the gourd to the tempered mixture and sprinkle some water and cover with a lid for 10
minutes.

5. In between uncover the vessel and stir the mixture twice. Then add salt, karima powder, jaggery or natural unrefined cane sugar, cooked pigeon pea and mix it nicely and cook for 5 minutes. Then take out from the fire and mix the grated coconut and serve.

HCS has the copyright of all its publications.  No part of these publications may be reproduced in any form without the prior permission in writing to HCS. This does not preclude the free use, in the course of implementing standard, of necessary details mentioned above. Enquiries related to copyrights to be addressed to KAILASA.