Prawn and bitter gourd?? I can imagine the way your face changes. I was thinking the same way when my husband and suggested this recipe. He said my mother-in-law would make this dish and assured that it would taste really great if cooked in the right way. Honestly I didn't want to try it since I am not a very big fan of bitter gourd, and prawn's my favorite. I didn't want to marry them both and create a disaster family!!. But I couldn't escape for long. One day my husband returned from grocery shopping and I found some bitter gourds in the bag. He said that the bitter gourds were fresh and he was reminded of the frozen prawns we had in the freezer. Yes, Yes I finally tried it, and to my surprise the recipe came out so well the very first time. I found out there are some tricks to cook bitter gourd to minimize its bitter taste . Here's the recipe..
Things you need:
Bitter gourd - 2
Prawns - 1/2 lb
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Chilli powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Salt - as required
Tamarind - gooseberry size, soaked and extracted
Oil - 1 tbsp
For marinade:
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
Salt - as required
Lemon juice -
Serves 2-3 people
Method:
Step 1:
Clean and devein the prawns. Marinade the prawns with chilli powder, turmeric, salt and lemon juice. Keep aside for some time. Meanwhile chop the onion and tomato, and thinly slice the bitter gourds. Remove the center pith and seeds from the bitter gourd slices.
Step 2:
Pour little oil in a pan and shallow fry the prawns. Add some more oil in the same pan and fry the onions until soft. Then add the bitter gourd pieces and fry until the bitter gourd slices turn dark in color and gets firm.
Step 3:
Add the tomatoes, turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt one by one while stirring the mixture for even blending. Add the prawns and close the lid. Allow it to boil.
Step4:
Add the tamarind extract and cook with lid closed, until the masalas are well done and oil oozes out. You can garnish this with little coriander leaves (optional)
Note:
Frozen prawns does not absorb spice easily, hence i have marinaded and shallow fried them. If using fresh prawns you can skip this step and add cleaned prawns directly after adding tomatoes.
Things you need:
Bitter gourd - 2
Prawns - 1/2 lb
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Chilli powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Salt - as required
Tamarind - gooseberry size, soaked and extracted
Oil - 1 tbsp
For marinade:
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
Salt - as required
Lemon juice -
Serves 2-3 people
Method:
Step 1:
Clean and devein the prawns. Marinade the prawns with chilli powder, turmeric, salt and lemon juice. Keep aside for some time. Meanwhile chop the onion and tomato, and thinly slice the bitter gourds. Remove the center pith and seeds from the bitter gourd slices.
Step 2:
Pour little oil in a pan and shallow fry the prawns. Add some more oil in the same pan and fry the onions until soft. Then add the bitter gourd pieces and fry until the bitter gourd slices turn dark in color and gets firm.
Step 3:
Add the tomatoes, turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt one by one while stirring the mixture for even blending. Add the prawns and close the lid. Allow it to boil.
Step4:
Add the tamarind extract and cook with lid closed, until the masalas are well done and oil oozes out. You can garnish this with little coriander leaves (optional)
Frozen prawns does not absorb spice easily, hence i have marinaded and shallow fried them. If using fresh prawns you can skip this step and add cleaned prawns directly after adding tomatoes.
