Karathe Kudko /Pathrado

I simply love Bitter gourd / Karela (in hindi) / Karathe (konkani) and though it's little bitter in taste it's my fav and has got great health benefits like good dietary fiber, good in vitamins , low in fat and it's definitely proven to lower blood sugar levels . Nevertheless I love this veg and try to do various dishes out of it and this was the one recipe I was hooked too which was contributed by Priya R shenoy ...on my  recent visit to India I prepared this for my mom and she absolutely loved it and told me that she used to prepare this dish earlier and it was called as karathe Kudko and they used to add a thick slurry of tamarind and Jaggery so the 2nd time when I prepared it I prepared the way she told me and it was surely a wow tasted even better the next day when the flavours got mixed in so well ....was a perfect blend of sweet, tangy and bitter flavour just the way I love it to be....Thanks to Priya for contributing such a lovely recipe which is featured in KKAJ blog and I have tweaked the recipe and loved it ...so here goes the recipe for this and this recipe is truly a winner and a must try for those who love this veg like me :D...Do drop in your feedbacks and comments on the space below would love to hear from you :)

Ingredients 

4-5  med sized Karela (snip of the tips and cut into halves remove the seeds and cut into small strips)

4 tsp Red chilli powder ( I have used mild kashmiri chilli powder here)

2 tsp Hing water ( You can use Hing powder but I have used Hing water ...dissolve fresh hing in little water and mix well till dissolved )

lemon sized Tamarind ...or 3 tbsp tamarind paste

3 tbsp Jaggery ( It should be same size as lemon)

salt to taste

For tempering 

2 tbsp coconut oil ( you can use any oil but i highly recommend coconut oil)

1 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp urad dal 

6-7 methi seeds 

Method

• Heat 1/2 cup water add in tamarind and jaggery and boil till Jaggery is melted and with the help of the masher bring to one boil and switch off the gas and keep aside.
• Add salt to the bittergourd strips and keep it aside for 10 -15 mins then squeeze out the water and keep it aside. Boil this bitter gourd strips in water till cooked then drain in all the water.
• Then add in red chilli powder, hing water and mix well till all the karela / karathe is well coated with this powder. Leave in the marination for 5- 10 mins .
• Take a kadai add in coconut oil when hot add mustard seeds, methi, urad dal and when dal slightly changes the colour then add in marinated karela then simmer and cook till the masala gets cooked well add in salt if required. Add in thick slurry of Jaggery and tamarind and give it a good mix and cook on simmer flame till the gravy thickens and coats all the karela well .
• Done !....Allow it to rest for 2 hrs and then try as I said earlier tastes even better the next day ..I loved it with Chapathi or you can even serve as a side for rice and dal ...Too good !