Hagalakayi Gojju

Hagalakayi Gojju or Bitter Gourd Relish

If you are North Indian after reading the title you are in splits, I can see that. To add to that the color isn't working in its favor either. Oh lets get beyond that poop joke and look at the huge lesson this dish stands for.

Life's experiences are bitter just like the bitter gourd but if you know how to live well then you turn those bitter experiences around to mellow and make them palatable. This Hagalakayi gojju is from the Karnataka repertoire. It requires a Gojjina pudi or a special masala that makes it nutty and fragrant. On my YouTube channel TALKATIVE ANJALI I have posted the video for Gojjina pudi go over to watch.

Ingredients

1 cup finely sliced bitter gourd/ Karela

2 tablespoons Gojjina pudi

2 tablespoons jaggery

2 tablespoon tamarind extract

1 teaspoon mustard

1 teaspoon oil

few curry leaves optional

First salt the sliced bitter gourd. Let it sit for 30 mins. Squeeze out the water to remove excessive bitter juice. This is your cured bitter gourd.

Heat oil in a small pot. Splutter the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add the cured bitter gourd to the seasoned oil. Stir and let it cook for 2-3 mins. Add water to cover the bitter gourd put a lid and cook till soft. Then add the gojjina pudi. Follow in with tamarind extract and jaggery. Add salt as per taste. Let it come to a rolling boil and all flavors meld together. Let it thicken a bit and then put off the heat.

This hagalakayi gojju or relish is a beautiful palate changer in a thali. You can enjoy it with rotis, puris, dosas, etc as well as rice.

You can create different varieties of gojju with the same recipe. The most popular one is the pineapple gojju, check it out on my YouTube.