My Two Favourtie Vegan Bitter Gourd Dishes



Posted: Wednesday, November 03, 2010

by Wan

Before consuming bitter gourds, it is important to know their level of ripeness. A general thumb of rule is: the riper a bitter gourd, the more bitter it becomes.

A bitter gourd plant takes about two months after sowing to start bearing gourds. The gourds are picked weeks before they reach full maturity: when the skin is still hard and the seeds are soft. Beyond this stage, the gourds become spongy and then turn from green to a yellow-orange. In fact, very young bitter gourds are not bitter at all that Zimbabweans eat them raw the same way they eat a cucumber salad! No wonder bitter gourd is also known as African cucumber.

After harvesting, bitter gourds should be kept away from other fruits. The reason is that some fruits produce large amounts of ethylene gas which hastens the ripening process of a bitter gourd. Room temperature above ten degrees Celsius is also a ripening factor. Under one to two degrees Celsius, bitter gourds can last for up to a month. However, they are chilling sensitive and should not be stored below zero degrees Celsius.

There are two basic ways of reducing the bitterness: parboiling and salt. When using the salt method, one can simply score the skin and sprinkle with salt or soak and squeeze in salt water.

After selecting the right bitter gourd and reducing its bitterness, it is time to start with the first dish which is simply - cut into thin slices and deep fry beyond golden brown stage until it is crispy. This is a side dish served with hot fluffy steamed rice, absolutely perfect with curries.

The second dish is a salad. Firstly, is to make the bitter gourd crunchy. Use half of a medium size bitter gourd. Wash well and pat dry. Cut into thin slices then put into the freezer for two hours. After that defrost and squeeze out as much water as possible.

Secondly, prepare the sesame base sauce. The ingredients are: two tablespoons tahini, one tablespoon tamari or any light soya sauce, one table spoon lemon juice, one teaspoon caster sugar and one tablespoon of plain drinking water. Mix all the sauce ingredients, add in the bitter gourd slices and combine well. Garnish with some toasted sesame seeds before serving with rice and other dishes.

The two dishes recommended here are very simple yet surprisingly tasty for lovers of bitter gourds, even noob cooks.

Nutrients in the fruit of a bitter gourd are mainly carbohydrates, proteins and fibers plus fats, the hypoglycemic charantin, calcium, carotene, iron, potassium, phosphorus, sodium and vitamins A and C. While many people think bitter gourd is beneficial to diabetics since it lowers blood glucose, scientific tests to verify this claim are contradictory so far. Conventional wisdom dictates moderate consumption of most food including bitter gourd.

Wan craves for bitter gourd quite often. Marrying bitter gourd with sesame seeds is among her latest kitchen adventures which she deems worthy of sharing with the world.
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