Bitter Gourd Ghee Fry

Ingredients

• 150 g bitter gourd, seeded, cut into rings (பாகற்காய்)
• 1 tsp chilli powder (மிளகாய் தூள்)
• half a tsp turmeric powder, plus salt as needed (மஞ்சள்தூள், உப்பு)
• 2 tbsp grated coconut (தேங்காய் துருவல்)
• as needed for frying ghee (நெய்)

Method

1. Seed the bitter gourd, slice into rings and rub with turmeric and salt; leave 30 minutes.
2. Squeeze out the released water.
3. Shallow-fry the rings in hot ghee in batches until golden.
4. In a spoon of ghee on low heat, stir in chilli powder, add the fried gourd and toss for 2 minutes.
5. Add the grated coconut, toss and serve.

Adapted from பேலியோ ஆரோக்கிய சமையல் (Paleo Arokkiya Samaiyal) by Rtn Kannan Azhagirisamy, page 44. Method rewritten in our own words; ingredient quantities follow the book, with gram weights estimated for the nutrition figures. The book thanks the Arokkiya Unavugal (Healthy Foods) Facebook group and tamilpaleorecipes.com.