BITTER GOURD CURRY (KAIPAKKA CURRY)

My local supermarket has a section of Indian veggies! I get nostalgic for Umma's kaipakka curry. Out came my spiral notebook, where I have all my handwritted recipes. I was surprised to find the curry has a sprinkling of fenugreek powder. Beats me why we need this ingredient in here. I made it once, then a second time and it was perfect – just like Umma's!

Suddenly, kaipakkas  were everywhere. Zeenath WhatsApped a picture of her kaipakka harvest. But she does not like the vegetable. On a Zoom call, Ismath said she has never cooked this before but wants to know how. It turns out Ismath has a bag of frozen kaipakkas, brought into her home by the husband, she said. That made me smile. Ishrath did not say much, but her daughter in CT tells me that her Umma makes this often. I know Ishrath enjoyed the sisterly kaipakka consultations.

This recipe is for my sisters. Enjoy!

Wikipedia - Bitter gourd

Ingredients

Thinly sliced bitter gourd - 1 cup

Brown sugar - 2 tbsp (jaggery is what should be used but brown sugar is a good substitute)

Garlic cloves - 2

Chili powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Tamarind - 1/2 cup of tamarind paste extracted from tamarind pulp How to prepare tamarind paste. We call this puli vellam.

Salt - to taste

Fenugreek powder - 1/4 tsp

For garnishing

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - 8

Oil - 1 tsp

Wash the kaipakkas, cut down the centre, and remove seeds and pith (try to scrape out as much pith as you can). Cut into small slices like in the picture above.

Coarsely crush the garlic. I use a mortar and pestle. A rolling pin or a knife handle will work too. Mix together the crushed garlic, chili powder, turmeric and tamarind pulp and set aside. 

Air fry the kaipakkas at 350F for 10-15 minutes. Umma's original recipe deep fried the kaipakkas.

Put the kaipakkas in a cooking utensil and sprinkle with brown sugar. On to a slow heat, let the sugar melt into the kaipakka. (Jaggery is traditionally used to make this dish. Brown sugar worked well for me.) When the sugar is fully melted, give it a small stir, add the tamarind mix, salt to taste and bring it to the boil. Lower the heat to simmer and cook till kaipakkas are soft, and the curry  has reduced to a thick consistency. Transfer to a serving bowl. Sprinkle with fenugreek powder.

Warm 1 tsp oil in a small pan and add 1/4 tsp mustard seeds. Cover the pan and let the mustard seeds splutter. Take off the stove, add chopped curry leaves and pour this garnish over the kaipakka curry.

We ate this in the Mavoor Road house, as a side dish with a lunch of rice and fish curry. On good days, we would get some fried fish too.