Karathe Kismuri (Coconut based Bitter gourd Dry Curry)

Karathe Kismuri is a delicious dry curry. I got this recipe from my mother. In konkani, karathe means bitter gourd.
I know many of you may be thinking that "I don't want to try this recipe as I don't like bitter gourd". Yes..even I think the same. It is very bitter, it is not tasty..blah blah..But still if I start thinking of the benefits of bitter gourd then I feel like 'why am I not using it on a regular basis?' So got this pretty green veggie and made Kismuri. Trust me it tasted so good. It didn't taste bitter at all!! We enjoyed it with dal and rice. You can also try my other recipe for kismuri using raw banana- Kyane Kismuri.

Ingredients:

• Bitter gourd*, medium sized- 1
• Finely chopped Onion- A handful
• Grated Coconut, Fresh/ Frozen- 2/3 cup
• Roasted Red chillies- 3-4
• Tamarind- A small piece
• Coriander seeds- 1 tsp
• Oil- 2-3 tsp 
• Salt- To taste

*you can substitute bitter gourd with ivy gourd (tendle), Indian yam (suran) or bamboo shoots.

Procedure:

Wash bitter gourd. Chop off the ends and then cut it open to remove the seeds.

Then chop it into small cubes.

Then put the chopped bitter gourd in a bowl and add salt to it. Keep it for half an hour. After half an hour, squeeze out the extra moisture (bitterness) from the bitter gourd pieces and then keep it aside.

Now heat 2-3 tsp of oil in a kadai and then add chopped bitter gourd pieces and fry them until they turn crispy and brown.

The browning process of bitter gourd takes around 10- 12 minutes on medium heat. During that time prepare the masala.

For the masala: Grind grated coconut along with red chillies, tamarind and coriander seeds to get a coarse mixture (don't add water). Masala is ready.

Once the bitter gourd pieces turns brown and crisp, add the ground masala and mix well. Let the masala fry for two minutes (check for salt at this point). Then turn off the heat.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and then add chopped onion and mix well. 

Karathe Kismuri is ready!!

Serve it as a side dish to rice, dalitoy. Above measurement serves two people.

Note: You can as well fry the onions separately (if you don't like raw onion) and then finally mix it with the mixture.