Sweet-and-Bitter Gourd Pachadi, Trail Version
Dried bitter melon, jaggery, and a masala mix rehydrated in one pot. Sweet, hot, and bitter all at once.
- calories
- 430
- weight
- 3.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 123
- protein
- 6 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 20 min
- water
- 350 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Lunch
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dried bitter gourd slices | 1/2 cup | salt and dry them at home, 8 hours at 135F |
|---|---|---|
| Dried shallots or onion flakes | 3 tbsp | |
| Tomato powder | 1 tbsp | or two sun-dried tomato halves, chopped |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Grated coconut, dried | 3 tbsp | unsweetened |
| Jaggery | 2 tbsp | broken small, or brown sugar |
| Oil | 1 1/2 tbsp | |
| Mustard seeds | 1/4 tsp | |
| Dried green chilli | 1 | crumbled, or 1/2 tsp chilli flakes |
| Turmeric, red chilli, cumin, coriander, and garam masala powders | 1 tsp total | |
| Salt | to taste | |
| Instant rice | 1 cup | cooked separately or in the same pot after |
Method
- Pour 250 ml of hot water over the dried gourd, shallots, tomato powder, and coconut in a mug or bag. Leave it 10 minutes while you set up the stove.
- Heat the oil in the pot and drop in the mustard seeds. They pop in about ten seconds. Add the crumbled chilli.
- Tip in the soaked vegetables with their water. Stir in the masala powders, garlic powder, and salt.
- Simmer 5 to 8 minutes, uncovered, until most of the liquid is gone and the gourd is soft.
- Add the jaggery and stir constantly for two minutes. It will melt, then thicken and cling. Do not walk away from it.
- Scrape it into a mug, add 100 ml of boiling water and the instant rice to the same pot, lid on, five minutes. Spoon the pachadi over the rice.
Bitter gourd is the whole point and the whole problem. Sugar does not remove bitterness, it sits next to it, and the two together read as something more interesting than either alone. Jaggery is the sweetener that works because it brings its own molasses edge instead of clean sweetness.
The home version uses fresh gourd, fresh coconut, and a fresh tomato, none of which survive a pack. Dried gourd slices rehydrate close enough, dried coconut carries the fat, and tomato powder handles the acid. The jaggery goes in last on purpose: it burns fast and once it catches, the pot is ruined and the dinner tastes like ash.
Packing
Dried gourd, shallots, tomato powder, and coconut go in one bag. Spices in a second small bag so you can adjust heat. Jaggery in its own bag or it welds itself to everything in warm weather.
Variations
- Skip the rice and eat it as a condiment next to a plain lentil pot.
- A packet of tamarind paste in place of the tomato powder pushes it sour instead of sweet.
- Double the jaggery and it becomes closer to a chutney that keeps a day or two in cool weather.
https://www.awesomecuisine.com/recipes/17832/bitter-gourd-sweet-pachadi