Bitter gourd Sambar – Ideal for Diabetics

Bitter gourd is called Karela in Hindi, Pavakka or Kaippaikka in Malayalam and Pavakkai in Tamil. Bitter gourd or Bitter melon has lot of medicinal importance. One of the home remedies for controlling diabetes is the consumption of bitter gourd on daily basis. It is well effective when it is consumed in the form of juice in empty stomach. Studies have been proved that  bitter gourd contains a hypoglycemic or insulin-like principle, designated as “plant insulin”, which has been found valuable in lowering the blood and urine sugar levels. There for bitter gourd can be included in the daily diet of the diabetic. Dried bitter gourd seeds are powdered and used in many herbal diabetic medicines.I used to make bitter gourd sauté (thoran) and bitter gourd fry. We can use dried bitter gourd for different purposes. One of the ways used for drying bitter gourd is mixing the finely sliced bitter melon pieces in curd and drying in sunlight. Later on, this can be fried in the oil  (paavakka kondattam). Bitter gourd sambar is an ideal side dish for Idly, Dosa, Rice, etc.. Try this, will definitely enjoy the taste.

Ingredients:

• Bitter gourd – 250 gms, remove seeds and cut into 1/2” cubes
• Small Onion – 200 gms, peel and cut lengthwise
• Tamarind – 1 tbsp
• Chilly powder – 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
• Salt to taste

For roasting and grinding:

• Thoor dhal – 3 tbsp
• Coconut scraped – 3 tbsp
• chilly powder – 2 tbsp
• Coriander powder – 1.5 tbsp
• Oil – 2 tsp

For Seasoning:

• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Fenugreek – 1/2 tsp
• Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Dried red chilly – 4, halved
• Curry leaves – 1 tbsp
• Asafoetida – 1/2 tsp

Method of Preparation:

• Soak tamarind in 1/2 cup hot water and extract the pulp
• Fry coconut and thoor dhal in 2 tsp of oil over medium heat, add when the coconut and thoor dhal turns brown in colour
• Grind and make a smooth paste with enough water
• Cover and cook bitter gourd, onion, chilly powder, turmeric powder, and salt to taste in enough water
• Once it is done, add tamarind extract and bring it to boil
• Add ground paste with enough water and let it boil, cover and cook until the ground thoor dhal cooked well
• Heat oil in a wok or pan, fry fenugreek and when it turns brown in colour, add mustard seeds, dried chilly,curry leaves and asafoetida
• Pour over the curry, cover  and keep aside for serving
• Mix well before serving.