Bitter gourd, the health-packed veggie

Its taste might be better but its health benefits are sweet. Snehlatha Baliga details the many wondrous benefits of bitter gourd

Naturally, some vegetables are not as popular as others. Yet, their easy availability, the variety they offer to the daily menu, and, last but least, their nutritional value necessitates that they be included in the meal platter.

The bitterest vegetable known to the world and consumed only by humans among mammals is the bitter gourd. It derives its bitterness from the chemical momordine. Scientifically known as Momordica Charantia, belonging to the genus Momordica and the family Cucurbitaceae, the vegetable deserves a regular presence on the menu due to its health-giving and disease-controlling properties. It has low calories, high content of fibre and phytonutrients, folates, vitamins A & C, minerals and antioxidants. The low-sodium and high-potassium content in it is beneficial for high BP patients while polypeptide-p, a plant insulin, controls blood sugar levels.

The vegetable, found in many shapes and sizes, is also called bitter-pear or bitter- melon. This all-season vegetable grows on vines and has slender stems and tendrils, the Indian variety hanging down from the vine.

A clever cook can overcome the handicap of this vegetable by cooking it with any souring or mildly sweetening agents. Tamarind pulp, raw mangoes, star fruits, dry mango powder, hog plums, etc could be used for the purpose. A tiny piece of jaggery, too, balances the taste. Drying it in the sun, marinating in curds, smearing with salt and squeezing out excess water are also effective methods of decreasing its bitterness in the preparations. Drying the bitter gourd in the sun is a good way of preserving it. Immature gourds are less bitter because the astringent levels go up as they mature. Usually, the seeds of the vegetable are discarded along with the pulp. But in many preparations, especially in fritters, the seeds provide a crunchy factor.

The fruit could be pickled. Dried bitter gourd powder is now commercially available. It could be had as an accompaniment to rice and breakfast items. Bitter gourd juice mixed with amla juice is a great cure for many illnesses. Amla juice helps reduce the bitterness and also enhances the curing properties of the concoction.

In many Indian homes, bitter gourd is an important and indispensable vegetable during death anniversaries and ceremonies.