Baked Kakarakaya ~ Bitter Gourd Chips

As the name suggests, bitter gourd is a bitter vegetable and is one of the most despised vegetable by many people. But I like it and do not mind the bitter taste of the vegetable. Baked bitter gourd chips has been on my to bake list for some time and finally got to bake them few days ago. I won’t lie to you, the chips are slightly bitter but the bitter taste can be mellowed down by using sugar. I sparingly used sugar and more can be used to once preference. Mr.U thought these were deep fried and when I told him these were not, he wanted me to make it again. Both of us liked the chips and will be making them more often.

Please pardon the picture. I was tired, not in a mood to set up a photo shoot and I tried to take a quick picture with my P&S, only to realize the battery was almost dead, in fact died on me while I was clicking. Then I realized even my mobile battery was discharge. It was frustrating and With no other option, I am going with the best picture I have on hand. I will try to replace the picture very soon after I get back from my vacation next month.

Source: Kitchen Kemistry
Total Time: 50 minutes (excludes resting / marination time)
Preparation: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients:

8 oz. (225 g) or 1 medium and 1 small Bitter Gourd
1 tsp. Chili Powder
½ tsp. - 1 teaspoon Garam Masala (I used store bought Rajah brand)
½ tsp. Cumin Powder
½ - ¾ tsp. Salt (adjust to taste)
¼ tsp. Turmeric Powder
¾ tsp. Ginger Garlic Powder
1 tbsp. Lime Juice
3 tbsp. Oil (I felt I could have used less oil)
2 tbsp. Rice Flour or Besan (Gram Flour / Chickpeas Flour) or a combination of both (I used 1 tbsp. each of rice flour and besan)
1 tsp. Sugar to sprinkle on top

Preparation:

Wash and wipe the bitter gourd. Cut into ¼” slices and carefully scoop out the white fibrous white part and seeds from the slices and discard. I like the seeds and kept the seeds.
In a bowl mix all the ingredients except sugar and bitter gourd slices.
To the mixture add sliced bitter gourd and stir to well coat the slices.
Let the coated slices rest for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 425F / 200C.
Line a baking sheet with an aluminum foil and grease it properly.
Arrange coated slices on the baking sheet and do not overcrowd the slices.
Sprinkle sugar over the slices, if using it.
Bake in the preheated for 30 minutes, flipping the slices/chips halfway into baking and turning the baking sheet around. It is essential to flip the slices and also turn the sheet around for even baking.
After 30 minutes into baking, check the chips. Smaller slices should be baked golden brown, remove and keep aside. Continue baking for for another 10 minutes until all the slices are golden brown. In 30 minutes my slices for not brown, hence baked for another 4-5 minutes, removed smaller slices from the baking sheet and baked for another 5 - 6 minutes until all the slices were brown.
Remove from the tray and let cool. Serve with rice. These stay fresh up to 2 days in an airtight container. We finished them in a day.

Note:

Cut slices into equal slices. I am bad at cutting veggies into equal sizes and some of the chips for thicker and the thinner ones were slightly over roasted and charred, thought even the charred ones taste good.
I used 3 tbsp. of oil and left I should have used only 2 tbsp. There was some oil settled at the bottom of the marinade bowl after removing the bitter gourd slices. Next time will try with less oil.

This is part of the Bake-a-thon 2015