Bitter gourd, also known as bitter melon, bitter apple, bitter squash, balsam pear or peria katak in Bahasa Malaysia, is a common food among the Indians. It is claimed that there are many health benefits to be obtained from eating the bitter gourd or drinking its juice. However, there are also side effects to consuming them. Thus, as a general rule, we should consume it in moderation.
We had shied away from bitter gourd due its bitterness. It is only recently that we had acquired the taste of consuming it. Since then it had been featured on our dining table every now and then. One way of cooking the bitter gourd is to deep fry them. This dish can be easily found in Nasi Kandar shops.
There are two types of batter that we can make for deep frying. The first and most basic is to use plain batter and the second is to add turmeric and curry powder. Wash and cut the bitter gourd into two, crosswise. Remove the seeds. Then cut the bitter gourd into thin rings. If you do not want it to be too bitter, it is best to soak the rings in salt water for a while. After that pat these rings dry.
- For the plain batter, use 2 parts of rice flour and 1 part of all purpose flour. Add some baking powder (the amount depends on the quantity of rice flour and all purpose flour) and salt. Stir these ingredients to mix them well. Slowly add water to the flour mixture until a nice consistency is obtained i.e. one which is neither runny nor too thick.
- For the other batter, use 2 parts of rice flour and 1 part of all purpose flour. Add in half a teaspoon of turmeric powder and half a teaspoon of curry powder. However, increase the amount of turmeric powder and curry powder if a lot of rice flour and all purpose flour is used. Add in baking powder and salt. Mix all these ingredients well. Pour in water slowly until you get a nice consistency which can coat the bitter gourd.
- 2 pieces of peria katak
- 100 g of rice flour
- 50 g of all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Water, enough to reach a good consistency
- Cooking oil, for frying
- Kitchen towel
Method:
- Wash and cut the bitter gourd into cylindrical rings as thin as possible. Set aside.
- Mix rice flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add water to the flours slowly until a good consistency of batter is achieved, neither too watery nor too thick.
- Add the bitter gourd to the batter. Coat every piece of the bitter gourd with the batter.
- Heat up some oil in a wok over medium fire.
- When the oil is hot, use a pair of tongs to put the bitter gourd into the oil, slice by slice as we do not want all the slices to be lumped together. The bitter gourd will not be crispy if the slices stick together into big chunks.
- When the batter turn brown, dish the slices out onto kitchen towels to soak up excess oil from the bitter gourd.
- Note: The crispiness can usually stay for up to 1 hour with the right consistency of the batter.
The first two pictures show bitter gourd deep fried with plain batter while the last two pictures show those fried with turmeric and curry powder batter.
