Senaga kakarkaya/Karela chanadal curry

Bitter gourd though a nutritious veggie is not relished by many, more so because of its bitter taste. Bitter gourd, Bengal gram curry is rich in proteins and yummy in taste.

Preparation time: 20-25mins

Serves: 2





Ingredients:

Bitter gourd (karela/kakarikaya) 1/4th kg
Bengal gram (Chanadal/senagabedalu) 1cup(100gms)
Tamarind (Imli/chintapandu) 1 blob
Refined cooking oil 2 tbsp
Black gram (urad dal/uddi pappu) 1tsp
Red chillies 6
Mustard seeds 1tsp
Curry leaves 4-5
Jaggery (gud/bellam) 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder 1 tsp
Pinch of Asafoetids(hing)
Pinch of turmeric (haldi/pasupu)
Salt to taste

Fresh and chopped coriander to garnish

Method:

Soak the Bengal gram for 10 mins. Soak the blob of tamarind separately or use tamarind paste as available. Cut the bitter gourd into small pieces.

Pressure cook the soaked bengal gram, bitter gourd, pinch of turmeric, 4 red chillies together upto 3 whistles. If cooking in a cooking pot, cover and cook for 20-25 mins till the bitter gourd is cooked.

In a pan/kadai (bandli/mookudu), heat 2 tbsp oil. Add mustard seeds and as they pop, add 2 red chillies, 1 tsp black gram, 4-5 curry leaves and a pinch of asafoetida.

To the seasoning, add the cooked Bengal gram and bitter gourd mix & keep stirring till the mix is evenly seasoned. Add the soaked tamarind water/tamarind paste, 1 tbsp jaggery, 1tsp red chilli powder and salt to taste. (add 2 tbsp water if using tamaraind paste). Cook for 5 mins.

Garnish with fresh coriander and serve.

Senaga kakarakaya is a rice supplement, but goes well with any of the Indian bread too.
If you have got bitter gourd haters at home, finely chop the bitter gourd and make this curry, just to tell them they don’t actually hate bitter gourd, of course its not hate worthy anyway.