Hagalakayi Gojju

Gojjus are sweet and spicy dishes from Karnataka, the southern state of India, where I grew up. Gojjus are prepared with certain vegetables and the name of the gojju indicates with what it has been prepared. Usually the vegetable is cooked in sour, sweet and spicy gravy which goes well with rice or rotis. It is simple to make and tastes just delicious. The only key is just adding all the flavors at the right amount.
This recipe is my mom's. She doesn't use all the spices that go into a traditional gojju recipe and keeps it simple.
H for " Hagalakayi Gojju" - My entry for Nupur's A - Z Vegetable event. Hagalakayi is the Kannada word for bitter gourd and is the vegetable used in this Gojju.

Ingredients:

I prepared using these measurements which were perfect for me. Adjust the ingredients according to your taste. You can use frozen bitter gourd as well.

One bitter gourd / hagalakayi, chopped into small pieces

Roasted chick peas / daliya - 2 Tbsp

Dry coconut grated - 1 Tbsp

Water - 1 & 1/2 cups

Tamarind paste (Extracted thick) - 1 Tbsp

Jaggery powdered - 2.5 or 3 Tbsp

Chillie Powder - 1.5 tsp

Oil - 1 Tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Hing - less than 1 /4 tsp

Curry Leaves - Few

Salt

Grind daliya and dry grated coconut into a fine powder using a mixer / blender.

Soak a big marble sized tamarind in water till you are able to squeeze the thick pulp. Alternatively, add some water to the tamarind in a bowl and put it in microwave for a couple of minutes. Let it cool. Then extract the thick pulp.

Heat oil in a small pan / wok and add mustard seeds , hing and curry leaves. When mustard seeds start to splutter, add bitter gourd pieces, stir once, turn down the flame and close the lid. Let it fry on a low flame till they turn tender. Then add the daliya - coconut powder, tamarind extract, chillie powder, jaggery powder, salt and water. Increase the flame and cook it till it comes to a boiling point. Then again lower the heat cook for a couple of minutes more and turn off the stove. The gojju would have turned thicker by this time.

Serve hot with rice / rotis.

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