Ginisang Ampalaya (Sautéed Bitter-Melons with Egg)

This one is for the bitter melon lovers out there. (You know who you are.)

It's a straightforward Filipino breakfast dish. You sautée some bitter melon rounds with onions, patis (fish sauce), garlic, black pepper and eggs.

You can add ground pork, or not. You can add bell peppers, or not. You can add tomatoes, or not.

There's a lot of that "or not" in Filipino cooking.

Only constant here seem to be that it wouldn't make any sense to have a sautéed bitter melon dish without bitter melons, would it now?

Also, the eggs are key. They act as counterpoint.

The eggs were lightly scrambled because that's the way the CC rolls.

You may want to roll differently, or not.

Karela Kaju Kishmish

The CC has posted this particular recipe before but he finds it impossible to invent new tricks each time so you will have to be content with a "show-n-tell" instead.

Ingredients

4-5 small karelas, cut into rounds
1/3 cup peas (frozen is fine.)
1/3 cup cashews (broken)
1/3 cup raisins
1/2 tsp asafoetida
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric (optional)
4-5 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp poppy seeds
salt to taste

Recipe

The mise-en-scène; from left clockwise: raisins, peas, broken cashews.

Karela's (bitter gourds)
Peeled karela's
They look like naked mole-rats, don't they?

Cut the bitter gourds into rounds, cover with salt, and mix.

Add water, and soak for at least an hour. The goal is to leech out the bitter part via osmosis. (Don't worry about the salt; you can always control the recipe later.)

Rinse them thoroughly, and squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. Dry thoroughly.

First, we pan-fry the bitter gourd rounds.

When they look fried, add the brown sugar, and let it caremelize.

Watch how everything turns dark brown.

When they are fried, drain them using paper napkins. They should be thoroughly dry before the next step.

Dry roast equal proportions of coriander seeds and cumin. When it gives off a fragrant smell, pulverize it into a powder (dhanajeeru.) The CC just uses a coffee grinder.

Fry some oil, add the asafoetida, fry, add the above dhanajeeru; the red chilli powder, the fried bitter gourd, the raisins and the cashews. Add a tiny amount of water.

Add the peas, and the poppy seeds towards the end. If it looks too wet, let it cook uncovered. You want it to be on the dry side.

Bitter Gourds

This is the proverbial line-in-the-sand.

On one side, are the I-like-Indian-food-if-its-not-too-spicy types, on the other, are the true connoisseurs of regional Indian cuisine.

The karela is the dividing line. It separates the women from the girls.

A couple of tricks to make it slightly less bitter. If you cut it into fine rounds, soak it in heavily salted water for at least an hour (longer is better.) This is just simple osmosis at play.

If you plan to stuff it, slit it lengthwise, remove the seeds, and sprinkle with coarse salt (a.k.a. "kosher salt".) Don't worry about the salt, you can always wash it away later. More is good.

Right before you prepare it, you need to squeeze the fruit to further remove the bitter juices.

Fried Karela with Cashews and Raisins

Ingredients

5 small karelas, cut into rounds, debittered (as above)
1/3 cup peas (frozen is fine.)
1/3 cup cashews (broken)
1/3 cup raisins
1/2 tsp asafoetida
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric (optional)
4-5 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp poppy seeds
salt to taste

Recipe

Roast the cumin and coriander seeds in a skillet for a bit. Don't allow them to burn. Put them in the coffee grinder, and make a fine powder. You will see this referred to frequently as dhanajeeru (dhana = coriander seeds, jeeru = cumin seeds.)

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a skillet. Add the bitter melon, and fry for a while. Add the sugar and let the sugar caramelize over the bitter melon. (You may need more sugar.) Take the stuff out of the pan, and dry pat with a paper towel.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a skillet. Add the asafoetida, followed by the dhanajeeru, the chilli powder, and the cashews. Fry for a bit, add in all the ingredients, and let it cook till the peas are cooked.