Bittergourd Chips (Pavakkai Chips) - Adyar Ananda Bhavan Style

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Pavakkai is one of my fav veggies. We mostly make pavakkai varuval but this time when I saw the recipe in Pavi's space with the additional tag of adyar ananda bhavan style I cudnt wait to try it.We totally enjoyed the crispy and flavourful chips sipping our cup of coffee.

Bittergourd Chips - Ingredients

Recipe Reference : Dishes from my kitchen

• Bitter gourd - 2
• Cornflour - 1/8 cup
• Rice flour - 1/8 cup
• Chickpea flour(Besan) - 2 tbsp
• Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
• Fennel powder - 1/2 tsp (coarsely powdered)
• Red Chilli powder - 1.5 tsp
• Cumin powder - a pinch
• Salt - as required

Method:

1.Wash bittergourd, chop both the ends, then dry it.Slice the bittergourd as thin as possible. Then add all other ingredients together an mix it well. Sprinkle little water(or even curd) may be 2 tsp to make it come together and mix well.

2.Heat oil and deep fry them until golden red in batches. Make sure you take them only when the 'shhh' sound subsides.Drain in tissue paper and store in airtight container. Do you have doubt whether it will be bitter, sure you will not feel so

3.If you plan to make in a huge batch and store then you can bake it at the final stage. This step is purely optional - Spread the fried bittergourd chips in a tray and bake them in the oven for 10 minutes in 350 F(176 deg c) preheated oven. I skipped this step as I made only a small batch.

My Notes:

• Baking at the last stage makes the bitter gourd stay crisp for a longer time.
• Make sure you slice the bittergourd evenly so that while frying it gets cooked evenly.
• After the flours and spices are added, just sprinkle very little water just t bring them all together not more than that. You can also add curd instead of water.
• For a fully baked verison : Just add 1.5 tbsp of oil in the bitter gourd mixture with all the flours and spices added. Then bake them in the 200 deg C preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until they crisp. Just give a flip after 10mins for even baking. I havent tried it this way but sure to do it next time.