Need: 1 bitter melon (goya), 1 onion, 1 tomato, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, 1 inch piece of ginger, 2-3 fresh green chillis, 1 tsp mustard seeds, half tsp fenugreek seeds, bite-size piece tamarind pulp, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp red chilli powder, half tsp turmeric powder, half tsp coriander powder
1. Cut off the ends of the bitter melon, slice in half and using a spoon remove and discard the seeds.
2. Thinly slice and place in a bowl of boiling water.
3. Add the tamarind pulp (or a tsp of salt or brown sugar). You can boil the bitter melon at this stage instead of steeping, just depends if you want it more tender.
4. Peel and thinly slice the onion.
5. On a medium heat, heat olive oil in a pan.
6. Add the fenugreek and mustard seeds and when they start popping add the onions and stir.
7. Finely chop the garlic, ginger and green chillis, add to the frying pan when the onions have softened.
8. Drain the bitter lemon, and add to the frying pan along with the salt, turmeric powder, coriander powder and red chilli powder.
9. Cover and cook on a low heat for about 15-20 mins until the bitter lemon is tender.
10. Roughly chop a tomato and add for the last 10 mins. You can add half a cup of water here, stir well and let simmer.
11. Serve with rice or hot chappatis!
the food u ♡ 
yummy i love bitter gourd! We cook it a bit different (saute with onions, chili masala and garlic basically) but its definitely an underrated vegetable, I think so at least! Also, I just read that you lived in UK and now Japan- that’s so cool! The only thing I can say is I’ve lived in 2 cities on the east coast and London for a bit! Thanks for the post 🙂
Hi! Thanks for stopping by and yes saute with onions is a classic Indian way to cook! After living here, visiting China and seeing the different ways it is prepared and cooked has given me lots of ways of eating this. Try it with tamarind and I’ll be posting more recipes so stop by! Thanks