Instructions

1. Clean the bitter gourd with water thoroughly. Scrape the bitter gourds and keep the scrape aside.
2. Make a slit in the bitter gourds and remove the seeds.
3. Apply the salt and lime juice to the bitter gourds and scrapes in a bowl and set it aside for an hour.
4. Squeeze out the juice from the bitter gourds and the scrapes. Wash the bitter gourds in hot water twice and squeeze out all the water.
5. Keep the scrapings aside.
6. Heat oil in a pan and when it is hot, add the cumin seeds and let them splutter.
7. Add asafoetida and the scrapings and sauté for 2 min.
8. Add the gram flour and fry for a minute taking care not to burn the mixture.
9. Add all the other dry spices, coriander powder, turmeric, chilli powder, sugar and mango powder. Sauté for a minute and then turn off the heat.
10. Fill this stuffing in the bitter gourds and tie them with thread, so that the filling is secured inside.
11. Heat oil in a pan, add the bitter gourds and cook under lid for 5 min and turn them over and cook again for 5 min.
12. Cook all the bitter gourds until they are tender. If there is any unused filling, it can be added to the bitter gourds when they are frying.
13. Once all the bitter gourds are cooked and tender, they are ready to serve.