Bitter-gourds are very tasty and have special medicinal properties. It is supposed to have the ability to reduce blood sugar and blood pressure. Drying them during summer time when they are abundant is a good way to preserve them for the winter time. Deep fried bitter-gourd is very delicious also. Here I am explaining how to dry them the easiest way.

Ingredients

Bitter gourds

Salt

Turmeric powder (optional)

Preparation.

Wash and dry the bitter-gourds and cut them into rings of 1/2 cm or less thickness as in the picture.

Now transfer the sliced bitter-gourd pieces into a deep pan, add the salt (2 teaspoons for 1 kilograms of bitter-gourd.) and turmeric powder (1/2 teaspoon for 1 kilograms of bitter-gourd) and mix well together.

Allow it to stay for an hour.

After an hour add 50 ml water to the pan and cook the bitter-gourd with closed lids.

Once the water in the pan is boiled reduce flame and allow it to cook for two minutes.

Immediately transfer to a flat tray to prevent it from overcooking and allow to cool.

Spread the bitter-gourd rings evenly in the tray and allow to dry in the sun.

Turning them and stirring them now and then helps the drying process.

Lining the tray with a parchment paper allows us to collect the dried bitter-gourd pieces, and it makes it easy to turn them while drying.

On days when there isn`t enough sun you can dry it in the oven. For that you may heat the oven at 50°c-60°c and place the bitter-gourds in the oven.