Whole Bitter Gourd Fry

We call ‘Bitter-gourd’ as ‘Kakarakaya’ in telugu.

This fry tastes wonderful. Being it is a deep fry it is good to make quite often. You can try this ‘Bitter-Gourd Curry’ too which is also tasty.

Recipe Source: My Mom.

Serves: 2-4 people.

Ingredients:

• Bitter Gourd --- 8
• Oil --- To deep fry
• Red Chilly Powder --- 1 tsp heap
• Salt --- 1 tsp
• Ghee --- 2-3 drops on each fried bitter gourd

Process:

1. Peel the skin of the bitter gourd slightly. Wash them with water. Cut the edges of bitter-gourd. Make a slit for each bitter-gourd. If the bitter-gourds are too big cut them to half. Try to select tender ones for this fry. If they are too bitter soak them in salted water for about 30 min after slitting them. Then squeeze nicely to remove all the water.

2. Heat oil in pan for deep fry on medium heat. (Try not to use non-stick pans for deep fry which is not good for health.) The oil should not be too hot. If the oil is too hot the fried bitter-gourd becomes crisp after frying and won’t be good. They should be soft after frying. So, keep the heat on medium and fry.



3. Drop silted bitter-gourds and fry till they turn to light dark color, which has taken around 20 minutes for a batch to me. Don’t over fry them. Transfer the fried bitter-gourds to a paper towel.

4. In the meanwhile, add 1 tsp heap of red chilly powder and 1 tsp of salt into a bowl. Mix well and keep aside.

5. When you are done with frying, stuff with the mixed powders to the slit of the bitter-gourd and add 2-3 drops of ghee / clarified butter onto the slit.



6. Have them with hot rice. Tastes wonderful. I love this fry.