India, Aug. 31 -- Bitter gourd leaves not only have medicinal and nutritive properties, they can be added to tasty recipes as well
It was a clear case of home gardening gone wrong. I had planted bitter gourd seeds in a flower pot hoping to get gourds, but as there's not enough sunlight in my home in Delhi, all I got was a profuse harvest of leaves. The only consolation was that the plant is pretty - the slender climber has lobed leaves and delicate tendrils and works well as an ornamental. A friend suggested that I make pakoda s from the leaves. I made a batch dipping the whole leaf in a rice and chickpea flour batter. They were tasty enough for me to plant more seeds next year for a fresh harvest.
Bitter gourd or Momordica charantia is p...