Bitter Gourd/Karela/Paakarkai Gojju

Gojju is a classic Karnataka dish, which goes well with white rice, dosa, idly or chapati. Its a thick gravy that tastes sweet, spicy and sour too.  Gojju can be prepared with vegetables like bitter gourd, okra, mango, tomato or even with mixed vegetables.

Ingredients

Bitter gourd - 1 medium size, discard the seeds and cut into small pieces
Tamarind paste - 1/2 tsp or gooseberry size tamarind soaked and extracted
Jaggery - 1 tbsp apprx
turmeric powder, salt and hing as per taste

Dry roast and grind

Gram dal - 2tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
Sesame seeds - 2 tsp
Dry red chillies - 2-3 (adjust per taste)

To Temper

Oil, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves

Method

1.  Heat a pan, dry roast the ingredients given under "Dry roast and grind". Allow to cool and grind to a coarse powder.
2. Cook the bitter gourd seperately in a vessel or pressure cooker adding salt and turmeric powder. Adding turmeric while cooking vegetables allows retaining the nutrients of the vegetable.
3. Heat oil, do the tempering, add the tamarind extract and the ground mixture. Add in the bitter gourd, salt, hing and turmeric powder. Add in some water if required and allow to boil for few mins. You could see the gojju thickening, at this stage add jaggery, give a quick stir and turn off the stove.
4. Gojju is ready. Enjoy with hot rice!