8 March, 2014
Baked Bitter Gourd Chips (or rather, “better” gourd chips!)
Some time ago, I posted a curry recipe with bitter gourd in gravy, and after that I’ve been experimenting with making a simple, ‘bitter-less’, dry curry with the green vegetable. And baking provided a solution- hey, it always makes things simple, doesn’t it?
I’m very thrilled with this recipe because it was an instant success. Even my son, who does not eat bitter gourd in any form, grabbed the bowl of freshly made chips and emptied it!
I used a very great tip that I learnt recently- to marinate vegetables in an acidic sauce before baking/broiling to retain nutrients. It worked well in this case to alleviate the bitter taste. So, here’s the recipe…
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
fresh bitter gourd- 1 medium
tamarind paste- 1/2 tsp.
red chilly powder- 1/4 tsp.
turmeric powder- a pinch
salt- to taste
canola oil spray
Method:
1. Cut the bitter gourd lengthwise and de-seed.
2. Chop into slices as thin as possible.
3. Prepare the acidic sauce by dissolving tamarind paste in 2 tbsp. of water and adding turmeric powder, salt, red chilly powder.
4. Add the bitter gourd in, and stir to coat. Let it sit for a few minutes while you pre-heat the oven to 425 °F. Drain excess liquid. Toss onto a baking tray (I use aluminum) lined with parchment paper, arrange so that they do not overlap each other. Lightly spray with canola oil.
5. Bake for 18 minutes. If you want it very crisp, you could bake it for 2 minutes more, but be careful not to burn. Halfway through the baking process, gently shake the tray/rearrange the pieces with a ladle.
Enjoy right away. You could use some ketchup/dipping sauce, but they are delicious as is!
15 thoughts on : Baked Bitter Gourd Chips (or rather, “better” gourd chips!)
I too will have to try these asap as I don’t like bitter gourd but they must be great if your son had a whole bowl. Lovely recipe x
thank you, Dimple. I hope you like them!
I have never had a gourd before….interesting!
Lori, are you familiar with the bitter gourd? We don’t find it in regular grocery stores, it is available in international/Indian stores.
No, I have never seen one. Thanks for letting me know where I can find one!
I make these chips often….. and yours look delicious. 🙂
thank you, Aruna. Yes, it’s going to be a regular one in my house too!
perfect recipe! btw I started reading Vegan for her…thanks for the recommendation…I am finding it very useful…infact the book says adding acidic marinades to baking/grilling/frying/roasting will reduce formation of AGEs which promote inflammation and oxidation…Maybe our elders knew this when they created these recipes:)
that’s true, Kripa. Even my mother marinates some veggies in tamarind sauce before cooking it. I realize the significance only now! Nice to know about the book, did you find it in your library, it seems to be in great demand.
i bought it on amazon since i saw very good reviews and it wasnt too pricey…good reference book i say…
What a unique recipe..thanks for sharing!
you’re welcome, Liz.
Hey Apsara, I make this regularly but the actual fried version with a little rice flour to make it more crispy. But the baked version is lovely. I tried this today but in my oven the chips got burnt very soon with the temp you have mentioned. Then it worked fine with lower temperature. Maybe i make my chips too thin or maybe my oven is a bit different. Anyways thanks for this recipe…i will now use this recipe many times 🙂
– Harini
Harini, thanks for the comment. Yes, maybe my pieces are thicker. Another reason may be the amount of marinade used. Good that your second batch worked fine! 🙂
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