“Karathe- Kadgi Gashi (Bitter Gourd- Raw Jackfruit Curry)” … if you thought that karela's are always bitter, No, they are not ... try this simple medium spicy curry from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine often served with rice during meals ... tastes equally good served with Idly/ Roti too ... Yummilicious ....
** Gashi is a very famous curry from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine prepared almost in every home for day to day meals/ during most of the functions/ celebrations. I have posted this dish often in different combinations and if you browse through the blog or use the search option with key words you will find them. Writing anything more will only be repetition, so let me move ahead and share the recipe.
** Here is my recipe for “Karathe- Kadgi Gashi (Bitter Gourd- Raw Jackfruit Curry)” my style, try it, tastes wonderful ....
** Ingredients :
Karathe/ Bitter Gourd/ Karela/ Hagalkayi : 2-3 medium sized
Kadgi/ Raw Jackfruit/ Phanas : 12- 15 pieces of about one inch each.
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste
** Masala to be ground :
Coconut/ Soyi/ Nariyal : 1 cup freshly grated
Kashmiri Red Chilly/ Kumte Mirsanga/ Byadgi Mirchi : 8-10
Chinchama/ Tamarind/ Imly : small marble sized
** For Tempering/ Tadka/ Pannaka :
Coconut Oil/ Nariyal Tel/ Narlel Tela : 1 tblsp
Mustard Seeds/ Rai/ Sasam : 1 tsp
Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 8-10 fresh ones
** Remove the outside spiny skin with the help of a sharp knife of the Kadgi/ Raw Jackfruit/ Phanas. You should oil the knife a bit to avoid the stickiness being stuck to the knife. The center white pith has to be removed. Cut into triangular shaped pieces. I have used about 12-15 pieces of one inch in size. Wash in plenty of water.
** Note : In Mumbai, we are lucky to get raw jackfruit all cleaned and cut into large sized pieces. All we need to do is , just further cut it to desired sized pieces, wash and straight away use it for any curry/ dish desired.
** Wash Karathe’/Bitter Gourd well, I have used light green colored ones as the lighter colored bitter gourds are supposed to be less bitter in taste. Slice off the edge portion of the gourd and cut them into rings of about ¼ inch thick slices or if desired into 1.5 inch squares. Wash them in water, drain and Keep them aside ready.
** Note : In many home or should I say almost all homes once the bitter gourd is sliced and done a little bit of salt is smeared on it and kept aside for 10-15 minutes and then the water is squeezed out to remove excess bitterness. In my home I do not follow that method, neither did my mother do it. My father being diabetic used to have the bitter gourds as it is and we children I guess just followed suit. You may do so if desired. But trust me following that method removes the medicinal and nutritional properties from the bitter gourds and in my opinion it is always better to have them as offered to us by nature as I strongly believe nature is the best judge, however, its individual choice.
** Add raw jackfruit pieces in a pressure cooker pan in even layer. Top it with bitter gourd pieces kept ready along with water. The level of the water should be about an inch above the laid pieces in pressure cooker. Now pressure cook to one whistle on medium heat, remove and let it rest a bit so that the pressure drop on its own.
** For Masala to be ground : Add coconut, Red chillies and tamarind into a mixer grinder and grind to a very fine paste using little bit of water. Do not use excess water as we need thick masala, you can use the veggies cooked water too.
** Note : For preparation of any curry you can use any sour tasting fruit/veggie like, bimbul (tree sorrel fruit), ambado (Hog Plum), karmbala (starfruit), dried kokum, kudampuli (dried malabar tamarind), ambuli (raw mango) etc. in which case please remember to not add tamarind while grinding the masala.
** Once the pressure cooker has cooled down and you are able to open the lid, remove and add the cooked pieces into a thick bottomed stainless steel vessel along with the ground masala and required amount of water to bring to required thick gravy consistency and then cook on medium flame until you see bubbles appearing on surface. Add salt to taste, mix well and simmer for a few minutes stirring often.
** Note : Traditionally a little amount, say about a tablespoon grated/ powdered jaggery/ goda/ bella is added to dishes with karathe’ /bitter gourd as by nature the veggie is bitter and is acidic in nature. It is believed that addition of jaggery not only cuts down the bitterness in the food but also lowers the acidic content of the same.
** For Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka : Heat oil in a small pan, when hot add mustard seed, when they begin to splutter add in curry leaves, fry for a second and then pour it over the simmering curry. Remove, cover and keep aside the curry to rest for 10-15 minutes for the flavours to seep into the curry well. While serving if you find that the curry too thick, then you can add some hot water, mix wel and serve.
** “Karathe- Kadgi Gashi (Bitter Gourd- Raw Jackfruit Curry)” is done and ready to be served. Gashi; is a common medium spiced curry from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine, prepared in various combinations and served with rice during meals. We Amchie's love to relish the same with Red Boiled rice/ Ukde SheetHa for best of taste. You can also serve it with Idly/ dosa if desired, as it tastes wonderful. Again, if you do not like serving rice for any reason, no issues just go ahead and enjoy it with any type of roti/ parathas/ poori etc. in which case keep the curry slightly thicker textured.
** Sharing a common link to all the “Gashi” recipes in the Blog below, you may browde through the same for more choices …
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