Khatte Meethe Karele (Sweet and Sour Bittergourd)

Good to be back after a long time with a very traditional recipe from my mom's kitchen. Karele or bittergourd is very good for health, but most of us fail to cherish it because of the typical bitter flavour. Here is something my mom used to do to make them tasty for us when we were small kids and since then I have developed liking for karela.

Take:
Karela (bitter gourd): 4 large
salt: 3 t spn
Hari mirch (green chilly): 1 large chopped
Adrak (ginger): 1 tspn grated
Dhania powder (coriander powder): 2 tspn
saunf powder: 1tspn
Haldi powder (turmeric powder): 1 tspn
garam masala (Kitchen king): 1 tspn
oil: 3 tbspn
mustard seeds: 1 tspn

• Take four large karela (Bitter gourd), peel them (keep the peel separately, we will use them ) . Cut each karela in four round pieces and then slit each piece longitudinally to get four pieces. Rub one tea spoon salt on these pieces and one tea spoon salt on the peel. Keep them for 15-20 mins. This helps to reduce the bitterness in karela.
• After this wash the peel and karela pieces to remove salt.
• Take oil, heat it and add mustard seeds till they splutter, add green chillies, ginger and turmeric to oil. Add the karelas and cook them covered for 5-8 mins till they are crunchy.
• Add the peel, and add about 1/2 tspn salt (less salt is needed as we had already kept them in salt for some time).
• Keep the karela and peel on slow flame, tossing in between, till they are soft and cooked well.
• Add coriander powder, saunf powder, red chilly powder and mix well in curry. Saute it for 1-2 minutes. 
• Add 1" x 1" jaggery cube and 1 1/2  tspn tamarind paste and mix well.
• Saute it for 2-3 mins add garam masala, mix well and transfer in a serving dish. garnish it with chopped coriander leaves and serve it in meals along with dal, curry and chapatis.
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Bread Idly

I wish you all a very Happy New Year 2011. As the new year unfolds, may God fulfill all your wishes.

Today I bring to you an exciting snack item based on bread. The idly is crispy at its base and soft on top that gives it a very different feeling in mouth. And a mixture of potato and curd gives it all together a very  different flavour. So enjoy making this quick item, serve it hot in breakfast or evening snack.

You need: 

12 slices of bread (sandwich/ brown/ multi grain bread anything will do depending on your taste). Use a round sharp vessel to cut it in roundals. 

Potato: 4 medium sized (Boiled and meshed)

Onion: 1 medium sized (finely chopped)

green chilly: 1 large finely chopped

pepper: 1/2 tspn

fresh coriander: 2 tbspn finely chopped

salt to taste.

Curd: 3/4 cup: beaten, add salt and 1 tspn red chilly flakes.

Butter: 25 gms.

Oil: to roast bread on tawa/ flat pan.

• Mix meshed potatoes, chopped onion, green chilly, coriander,salt and pepper to make the masala (filling).
• Make six balls from the potato masala.
• Take a bread slice(cut in round shape), flatten one ball of potato masala on one side.
• Heat a flat pan/ tawa, put 1 tb spn oil on it and keep the bread with potato masala side facing pan.
• Take another slice of bread , put butter on one side  and keep it on the bread on pan with butter side facing down.
• Spread a tbsp of curd on top of this idly.Cover it with a deep plate, so that the curd doesn't stick on cover. 
• Cook it in low flame covered for 4-5 minutes. This will make the potato at the bottom crispy and the curd on top seeps in the bread.
• Remove from pan and serve it hot with green chutney and tomato sauce.
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