Pavakka (bittergourd) Chips

This year was the first time I planted bitter gourds in my vegetable garden. I planted them with seeds that I saved from grocery bought bitter gourds. I specially picked ripe bitter gourds (yellowish-orange color) from the grocery store so that I could get seeds from them.
After cutting the fruit open, remove the seeds which has a red pulpy coating around it. After removing the pulp, carefully wash & dry the seeds. Store them in a container to plant in the spring.

This was my first harvest from my bitter gourd plants.

Now, coming to this recipe - I usually make a stir fry with bitter gourds with chopped onions & green chillies as a base to which I add chopped bitter gourd, turmeric & salt. After covering & cooking for a few mins, the bitter gourds is tender & soft. Roast for a little while & its a nice accompaniment with rice & curry. But soon everyone at home got tired of this recipe. so I decided to try something new. That's when I remembered trying bitter gourd chips at my cousin's place.

This was a big hit even with my older one who doesn't like bitter gourd. I made these on the thought that I could save some for later. But the whole batch of bitter gourd chips was over by the end of dinner time.

Try these & you'll see how everybody loves them!!

Ingredients

4-5 bitter gourd
3-4 tbsp besan (gram flour)
1-2 tbsp rice flour ( this helps make the chips crispy)
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp hing
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chaat masala
salt to taste
oil for deep frying

Method

Wash & dry the bitter gourd. After cutting off the ends, slice into thin rounds.

Heat oil in a pan.

Meanwhile combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl & mix well.

Add the sliced bitter gourd & coat with the dry mixture.

Sprinkle some water to make a thick batter to coat the bitter gourd.

Drop the bitter gourd slices 1 piece at a time into the hot oil. This is to prevent the pieces from sticking to each other.

Fry the bitter gourd in small batches on low-medium flame till the chips are crisp & golden.

Store excess in an airtight container.

They are great with rice & curry or as an evening snack. Enjoy!!!