Karathe upkari (Bitter gourd sabji)

My family has a long unfortunate history of people with Diabetes. Research has shown that bitter gourd is extremely good for people suffering from Diabetes. It reduces the blood sugar level. I cook this often for my husband.


Ingredients:
2 Julienned Bitter gourd
1 medium onion Julienned
1/2 tsp Mustad seeds
1 tsp Red chilli powder
a pinch of Turmeric
2 tsp Oil
Salt

Method:
Julienne the bitter gourd, add salt and leave aside. The salt does two important things - it allows the water in the gourd to come out and secondly it enhances the overall taste of the dish. Keep this aside for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, julienne the onion. I am an avid fan of cookery shows and see that the finer you cut the vegetables the better they taste.

Now, take a pan, heat it with oil. Add mustard seeds till it crackles. Add the onions and fry till they turn translucent. Once the onions turn pink, add turmeric and red chilli powder. I occasionally add a little bit of green chillies but that is optional.Drain the water from the bitter gourd and add to the pan. Since the karathe (bitter gourd) were soaked in salt there is no need to add salt for this dish. Fry till they are cooked and serve with Dhali thove and rice.

Aavale juice (Gooseberry drink)

Since this is the season when you get plenty of gooseberries, I tried this gooseberry drink recipe given to me by my friend Mala. I am sharing this recipe with you since it is a health drink and also tastes very good.

Ingredients:

1 kg gooseberries (Aamlah)
100 gm of ginger
3 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of water
4-5 lemon

Method:

Wash and wipe the gooseberries dry. Grate them along with the ginger. Extract the juice of gooseberry and ginger by putting them in the mixie. Now sieve the juice. In a saucepan boil the gooseberry and ginger juice for 10 minutes until the raw smell of the berries go. Make sugar syrup with 3 cups of sugar and 1/2 cup of water by boiling it. Once the sugar syrup is thick of one-thread consistency, add the gooseberry and ginger juice and bring it to a boil. When it is cool, add the juice of 4-5 lemons and bottle it in an airtight bottle. While serving add water to dilute the juice and add honey and serve.