Bittergourd Raita - Addition to my BG recipes

We went on a slightly extended (Monday off) weekend trip to California to visit near & dear ones. DD had a great time with her cousins and was not in any mood to come back home as did we :-) but come we did and are back at work since yesterday. That explains my infrequent visits and comments on your spaces lately, hope to catch up on all the yummy posts out there quickly this week.

Today is another Blog hop Wednesday post and I am really enjoying my trysts with hitherto unknown blogs because of this event. Radhika paired me with Roshni of Roshni's kitchen this time and I have been going back and forth on what I would make from her blog as I found so many interesting recipes :-). Roshni, you have a wonderful space and I will definitely be trying out other recipes in the near future.

For today though I chose Roshni's bitter gourd raita since it had 2 of my favorite ingredients - bitter gourd and coconut :-). I make a similar raita with okra but never thought of making it with bitter gourd. Thanks for the recipe Roshni, this is a keeper definitely. We all enjoyed the crispy bitter gourd in cool yogurt.

Here is Roshni's bitter gourd raita with slight modifications. I made the frying of bitter gourd oil free and hands free by baking it instead of pan frying.

What do you need to make bitter gourd raita? 
2 medium sized bitter gourds
1 Tblsp grated coconut (fresh or frozen)
1 Tsp cumin seeds
2 green chilis
3/4 cup yogurt
1 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)
For Seasoning:
1 Tblsp oil
1 small shallot or red onion - about 1.5 Tblsp thinly chopped
1 Tsp mustard seeds
4-5 curry leaves
1/8 Tsp asafoetida

How do you make bitter gourd raita?

• Wash and lightly scrape the ridge of bitter gourd, remove the ends and cut into thin disks.
• If the bitter gourd is big and has seeds inside, you can scoop out the seeds from the disks easily with a slight push using fingers. If the gourd is tender, skip this step. 
• Spread the cut bitter gourd in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake for an hour (or until it crisps up) at 350F removing it once at 30 minutes to flip them over. 
• Grind coconut, green chilies, salt and cumin into a a coarse paste with a Tblsp of water and then add the yogurt and blend into a smooth paste. 
• Heat a Tblsp of oil, add asafoetida, mustard and curry leaves. Let the mustard splutter, add the chopped onions and fry  till it softens. 

• Mix the baked crispy bitter gourd rings, ground paste and fried seasoning in a bowl, let it sit for 10 minutes and enjoy with rice or roti. 

Notes: 

• If you are not a fan of the bitterness of the gourd, mix the cut pieces in a Tsp oil, pinch of turmeric and 1/2 Tsp salt, keep aside for 30 minutes. Wash and use. This reduces the bitterness a lot. 
• Peeling the outer ridges reduces the bitterness of the dish. 

This yummy bitter gourd raita goes to Radhika's Blog Hope Wednesday