Bitter gourd and Potato sambar

Bitter gourd and Potato sambar

Ingredients

1 cup of tamarind juice (prepared by soaking tamarind in water and later on squeezing it)
300 gms of finely chopped bitter gourd
4 medium-size potatoes, chopped into medium-size pieces
100 gms of split pigeon peas (lentils)

1 tablespoon of oil

1 tablespoon of turmeric powder
1-2 tablespoon of chilli powder
1/2 tablespoon of mustard seeds
2-3 tablespoon of sambar powder
A pinch of asafoetida

Salt as needed

Procedure

1. Cook the chopped bitter gourd and the chopped potatoes. Cook the split pigeon peas and retain any excess water after cooking.
2. Boil the tamarind juice till it loses the raw smell. Add the cooked lentils and the cooked vegetables to the tamarind juice. Add the turmeric powder to the mixture too.
3. Let the mixture boil for 2-3 minutes (simmer). Add the sambar powder and the chilli powder.
4. Simmer for 2 more minutes and remove the vessel of the stove.
5. Seasoning. Heat the oil in a small utensil (spatula), add the mustard seeds and the asafoetida to the oil. As soon as the mustard seeds starts to burst, add the mixture to the other vessel.
6. Mix well so that the seasoning gets distributed equally in the mixture. 

7. Serves 6 persons.

Options

1. You can skip the chilli powder.
2. Write to me if you want the recipe of the sambar powder.
3. As the name says, bitter gourd could be very bitter. To get rid of the taste, you can add unrefined cane-sugar to the tamarind juice at the beginning.
4. You can skip the potatoes.
5. You can add onions..
6. You can replace asafoetida with finely chopped garlic.