Bitter Gourd~Cluster Beans~Jackfruit Seed~Star Fruit Sukke.

Bitter Gourd ~ Cluster Beans Sukke With Jackfruit Seeds And Star Fruit / Karate' ~ Mitkesanga ~ Bikkanda ani Karmbala ghalnu sukke ... A typically Konkani Saraswat dish that goes very well with Dalitoy ~ Rice or with roti / dosa too …. Yumz ..... 

Sukke as most of the Saraswat Konkani’s know is a semi dry curry that is served as a side dish along with other dishes and Dal-Chawal. Goes well with roti / chapathi / Dosa too. Sukke can be prepared with any veggies or tuber varities. Here I have prepared the same with karate (karela / bitter gourd) – Mitkesanga (Cluster beans) – Bikkanda (Jackfruit Seeds) and Karmbal (Star Fruit). Though both karathe and mitkesanga are bitter in taste it does taste awesome with a little bit of jaggery added on while cooking. The dish goes well as an accompaniment with Dalitoy (Spiced tuvar dal) and SheetHa (Rice). Also goes well with Roti / Chapati / Poori / Dosa etc. Without running much into details of the same will get along directly with the recipe. 

Ingredients

Bitter Gourd / Karela / Karathe / karate' : 2 medium sized.

Cluster Beans / Mitkesanga / Gawar : About 100 gms.

Jackfruit Seeds / Bikkanda : 10 – 12.

Star Fruit / Karmbala : 3 large sized.

Urad dal : 2 tsp

Coriander Seeds : 1 tblsp 

Methi seeds : ½ tsp

Coconut : 1 heaped cup freshly grated.

Red Kashmiri Chillies : 8-10

Jaggery : 50 gms.

Salt to taste

Oil : 2 tsp 

For Tempering :

Oil : 1 tsp

Mustard Seeds : 1 tsp

Curry leaves : 10-12

** Wash the bitter gourds and trim off the sides. Slice them into semi thick rings and keep them ready aside.

** Snip off the ends of cluster beans and cut them into 2 inch length pieces. Wash and keep them aside. 

** Peel of the skin of bikkand / jackfruit seeds and mash them with a heavy stone. They should just get crushed or if desired you may cut them lengthwise into 3 pieces. 

** Snip of the ends of star fruit / karmbala and slice them also into semi thick rings and keep them aside ready.

** To be ground into a semi coarse masala : Heat oil in a small kadai. Add in the urad dal, let fry a bit, when the colour changes slightly reddish add in the methi seeds, wait for a second and then add in the coriander seeds, continue to fry. Lastly add Red chillies (Kashmiri/Bedgi/Kumte chillies) and fry for a minute. Remove and add this all into a mixer grinder along with freshly grated coconut and grind to a semi coarse paste. The paste should not be very fine/nor too coarse. If you do not have star fruit, you can add in a small marble sized piece of tamarind and grind the masala. 

** Add the bikkand / jackfruit seeds, bitter gourd pieces / karate’ and cluster beans / mitkesanga in a pressure cooker pan and add in say about 2 cups of water. Cover with the lid and pressure cook to one whistle. Remove and let the pressure drop on its own. Once the cooker is cool enough and you are able to open the lid, remove and keep aside.

** Add the ground masala in a kadai, add in the cooked water from the cooked veggies and salt to taste and mix well. Add in the karmbal pieces too along with the grated jaggery and bring all to a boil on medium flame. Keep stirring to avoid the masala getting burnt at the bottom. Once the jaggery and melted and the curry has come to a boil, lower the heat and add in the cooked veggies and mix well. Do not at any point add in excess water. Just add in enough to bring to a thick semi dry curry consistency. If the cooked water is more, just keep it aside and you can add it on later if the curry gets dry after some time.

** For Tempering : Heat oil in a small pan, when hot add in mustard seeds (sasam), when they splutter add curry leaves and fry a bit. 

Pour this over the cooked curry, cover and keep aside for some time for the flavours to seep in. Bitter Gourd ~ Cluster Beans Sukke With Jackfruit Seeds And Star Fruit / Karathe ~ Mitkesanga ~ Bikkanda ani Karmbala ghalnu sukke is ready to be served. Serve hot as an accompaniment with dishes of your choice. This dish is usually served as a side dish in Konkani Saraswat home with Dalitoy and Rice. Goes very well with chapatti or dosa too.