Bitter Gourd Fry | How to make Pavakkai chips| Karela Chips | Under 30mins recipe

Bitter Gourd is my DH's favourite and after marriage, I too started liking my MIL's simple preparation of Pavakkai curry. We include it regularly in our daily cooking in the form of stir-fry. On a weekend, DH came looking for some snack to munch on. I had ran out of most vegetables and onion, the much needed ones for Bhajji / Pakoras and was left with Bitter gourds only.So,why not try 'Adyar Ananda Bhavan' style Pavakkai chips? Even the kids, who otherwise don't even come near Pavakkai loved these crispy chips. I followed my friend Jeyashri's recipe and it was perfect and I was happy that it did'nt take up more oil also.

Preparation time - 15mins

Cooking time - 10mins

Serves - 4

Ingredients :

Bitter gourd - 4, preferably tender ones

Rice flour - 6-7tblsp

Chilli powder - 1tblsp

Turmeric powder - 1tsp

Jeera / cumin powder - 1tsp

Pepper powder -1tsp

Asafoetida - 1/2tsp

Salt - As needed

Water - 3-4tblsp

Method:

1.  Choose fresh and tender bitter gourds and slice them into thin spirals.

2.  Add in all the powders and mix roughly with hand to incorporate the spices evenly.

3.  Now, add water by tablespoons. Make sure you add just enough water so that the flavours bind together with the gourd slices. Let it rest for 5mins.

          

4.  Heat oil in a pan and deep fry in 2 batches until they turn crispy and browned evenly. You can see below the difference in the oil.Oil bubbles subside as the veggie gets cooked and completely settles. This is one way to check for doneness. However, I always take one piece out and check for crunchiness before removing the entire batch from oil. Use a slotted ladle to strain the bitter gourd crisps on a kitchen towel.

         

These are very tasty and crunchy and make up for a great evening snack with tea/coffee or a simple side dish to go with any rice varieties. It holds good for a couple of days in an airtight container.

This post happens to be my 50th post on this space. Extremely happy that it goes to my best friend Priya's 'Vegan Thursdays' event.