Walwaley

I have to be completely honest - kaaraate (not the martial art, but the spiky rat like vegetable) or karela/bitter gourd is my least favourite vegetable. It is however, Anushree's favourite, and we try not to inculcate strong food dislikes in Aatmay and Aeikya - so one must eat at least a little of everything's including the (gulp!) Karela. FYI - Kaaraate is the Aamchi word for Karela.

It is a classic Aamchi dish and there could be arguments as to whether it begins with a "V" or a "W" but I choose to believe that it starts with a "W"!!!

This recipe has been taken from the Raschandrika. However, there are iterations (as with all recipes) including one given to my mother-in-law by my late grandmother (Indu Dhareshwar (and written into her recipe book) and with whom I have done an instagram live interview on Thoy Stories with Shanti Petiwala - check it out) -My ammama's recipe seems to be much simpler with fewer massol ingredients and had the option of adding peanuts instead of cashews.

So here we go...

Ingredients

5 small bitter gourds/karelas (Note: You can use 2 large ones alternatively)

1/2 cup jaggery

4-5 garlic cloves

6-8 cashew nuts/peanuts (optional)

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 cup of water

1 tablespoon coconut oil

Massol

1 cup of grated coconut

1 marble size tamarind

1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder 1 teaspoon black gram daal

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

Method

1. Deseed the karaates (as that helps to reduce the bitterness - although not enough for me!) and chop the kaaraates into small chunks.

2. In a pan, cook the kaaraates with the jaggery, salt and water over a medium flame for 15-20 minutes. Note: If you want to add cashewnuts, they can be cooked with the kaaraates; if you want to add peanuts, they need to be soaked in water for a couple of hours and then cooked in a pressure cooker and added to the kaaraates.

3. Chop/pound the garlic.

4. Roast the coriander seeds, some of the garlic and chilli powder.

5. Add the above roasted ingredients with the other massol ingredients listed above into a blender and blend into a paste. .

6. Add the massol to the kaaraates and mix so that the kaaraates absorb the spices.

7. In a small pan, add coconut oil and as soon as it warms, add the remainder of the pounded/chopped garlic and brown slightly. Add this to the cooked kaaraates.

So there you have it - a classic aamchi dish served with chapatis or rice.