If you are curious how I develop many of my recipes, here is a hint: Sometimes I go into different grocery stores, buy unique and unusual ingredients, and try to make a meal out of it! Insert how I made Pickled Indian Stew! I truly find cooking with bitter melon to be very exciting. It is one ingredient that, up until recently, I had never tasted, let alone cooked with. I find that despite its harsh biting flavor, bitter melon adds an enriching element to this dish. You will taste the bitterness, but you will understand why it is there. We have 5 senses for a reason!
The best dishes in the world incorporate every sense we have into one harmonious dish, and that is what you will find with Pickled Indian Stew. The sharp pickling sauces and fragrant Indian spices blend perfectly with the vegetables that are sauteed in ghee.
Cooking with Bitter Melon:
Bitter melon is likely one of the weirdest vegetables you will ever see. It is bright green, spiky, and so hard that it takes two hands to get a knife through it to cut it in half. And BOY is it bitter!! One of the most bitter things you will ever taste. In order to calm down the bitterness, I boil the melon for at least 5 minutes prior to sautéing it. It will still add a bitter element to the dish, but it will not make your face pucker and tongue recoil with disgust. To balance out this dish, we add a little heat, in the form of spices, to the stir fry, as well as pickled ingredients to cut through the bitterness.
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What Is Ghee, And Why Should You Buy It?
My friends, Ghee is a total game changer. Ghee is a variety of clarified butter that originated in ancient India. The best way I can describe how it tastes is if you took melted butter and added powdered Parmesan to it (though it is not made with cheese). When you clarify the butter, the process removes much of the water in the ingredient, yielding a higher smoking point. What does this mean? This means that you can get the pan hotter without having to worry as much about burning it, where as regular butter burns much quicker. Go get yourself a bottle and experiment! I bet you will cook with it all of the time.
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Pickled Indian Stew
Ingredients
- 2 bitter melons, cut in half with the seeds scooped out and discarded
- 8 small pointed gourds, peeled, de-seeded and cut in half
- 3-4 small round eggplants, cut into spears
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic pickle: south indian style
- 1/2 tsp lime pickle
- 1 cup chicken broth (or vegetable)
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1-2 large chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
- seasoning for chicken (I did curry powder, garam masala and garlic powder)
- 2 tbsp ghee (or butter)
- 1 red onion, peeled and chopped
- salt/pepper
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp curry powder
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 2 tsp cornstarch (flour is okay too if you don't have corn starch)
- Option to serve with naan bread and cooked white rice, and option to garnish with green peppers, green onions or cilantro/parsley
Instructions
- Place a pot full of water over high heat and bring to a boil.
- While water is coming to a boil, cut the bitter melon in half, de-seeding it and cutting it into 1/4 inch thick strips. Peel the pointed gourds, cut them in half and de-seed each one. Cut the tops off of the round eggplant and cut into spears. Peel and chop red onion.
- Once water is boiling, place bitter melon in pot an boil for 5 minutes. Drain.
- Season cubed chicken however you like( I used garam masala, garlic powder and curry powder). Heat 2 tbsp of ghee in a large skillet and once hot, place chicken in skillet. Cook undisturbed for about 4 minutes.
- Flip chicken to the other side and add all of the vegetables (boiled bitter melon, pointed gourd, red onion, eggplant). Cook for another 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Now add your garam masala, curry powder, garlic pickle, lime pickle and fresh garlic. Stir to combine and cook for 60 seconds on high.
- Pour in 1/4 cup of white wine and stir, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan for flavor. Cook the wine down for about 60 seconds on high, and then add the chicken broth.
- Let the chicken broth simmer on medium for about 8 minutes. At this point, take about 1/4 of a cup of the liquid and place in small bowl. Add the corn starch and stir until fully combined and there are no white clumps. Pour this back into the pan, stir and continue to cook for about 3 more minutes until the sauce has thickened.
- Serve with cooked white rice and naan bread! You have the option to garnish with cilantro/parsley, green peppers or green onions. Enjoy!
Did you like my ‘Pickled Indian Stew’ recipe? If so, go check out my ‘Vegan Lemon Rice Soup‘ Recipe!
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