Bitter gourd and Cabbage Poriyal (dry curry)

India is the land of curries. There are thousands of curries and various adaptations of the same curry. Each region and each family have their own version. It might be surprising to know you wouldn’t catch a cook in India using Madras curry powder. It simply doesn’t exist in India. What we have are masala powders, similar to curry powder, each designed for a different curry. Masala powders can be a combination of roasted or unroasted spices depending on the curry one is making. It can also be a freshly ground spice paste.

Coconut paste, freshly grated coconut and coconut milk are commonly added in Southern curries. They are much lighter.

Not all curries are full of sauce. We do have a lot of dry curries too. Poriyal is a kind of dry curry popular in the state of Tamil Nadu. It can be prepared with any vegetable. It is a very simple, nutritious and quick preparation that is served every day with lunch and dinner. One never gets bored with poriyal because it is made with different vegetables every time. Besides, poriyal goes good with both rice and flat breads. The basic recipe for poriyal is always the same regardless of which vegetables are used.

First the seasoning ingredients are added to hot oil. Then the onion goes in. When that is fried until translucent, the vegetable or a combination of two vegetables are added with just a dash of water and cooked. Depending on the vegetable you have chosen you will have to adjust the water quantity. For hotness either green chili or dried red chili is used. Some times chili powder is also added. Grated coconut is a must in poriyals. It is added to the curry at the last minute.

Today's recipe is Cabbage and bitter gourd or melon poriyal. Bitter gourd is extremely bitter as the name says. You either love it or hate it. It is supposed to have a lot health benefits and said to be good for diabetics.This poriyal tastes better the day after it is made. The sweetness of the cabbage kind of mellows the bitterness.

You can use this same recipe with other vegetables. Just reduce the quantity of onions to 1/2 cup and coconut to 1/4 cup.

Ingredients:

Shredded cabbage 2 cups
Bitter gourd 3, seeded and sliced
Sliced Onions 1 cup
Grated coconut 1/2 cup
Green chili 1 or as many as you prefer, chopped
Chili powder to taste
Turmeric powder 1/8th tsp
Mustard seeds 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil 3 tbsps

Heat three tablespoons of oil. Add the mustard seeds and allow them to pop.
Add the onions, green chili and bitter gourd and fry until the onions are lightly browned.
At this point the bitter gourd will still be raw. Add about three to four tablespoons of water and cook until the bitter gourd is soft.
Add the chili powder and turmeric powder. Fry everything until the curry looks dry with no water remaining.
Now add the cabbage and salt. Mix well and cook until the cabbage is done.
Mix in the coconut and cook for another minute.
Serve.
For a video version of this recipe go to:
youtube.com/watch?v=Ib3GXdGiIgA