As soon as you hear the bittergourd name, do you shake your head and say No!! I don’t blame you! It is a tough ask till you get used to it and then fall in love with it like me.
Not just you, most home cooks are reluctant with it. Most restaurants shun it.. so it is just a handful of bittergourd lovers like us who will get to the task. In fact between India and mt south Asian travels, I have found so many ways to incorporate this unique vegetable.
So far on the blog, we have the stir-fried bitter gourds, the salad recipe from my grandmother and bittergourd fritters.
This ampalaya salad.
The joy if finding vegetables that I was used to during my stay in the Philippines was the biggest joy. I did happily learn the nursery rhyme “bahay kubo” in Tagalog to help me memorise the names of the vegetables during my market visits. With the toddler tucked under my arm, often I engaged in a conversation with the vegetable vendor. Slowly our friendship grew and we exchanged recipes. They explained a recipe that I figured out was like a salad with mangoes and bittergourd. Years later I decided to test it out and, now I know why mango and bittermelon gourd click so well together. This is not the authentic recipe, but utilising the bits and pieces if what I remember.
Consuming this salad.
With this mango bittermelon salad, it is best consumed fresh, so prep a smaller quantity for your family to finish successfully. It pairs well with flatbreads or rice as a side. Top it with some crunchy nuts and seeds to make it a sumptuous meal by itself.
If you are new to the bitter foods, let us know if our recipes are helping you. Tag us through your journey @mildlyindian. If you are a lover of bittermelon, do let us know if you like the combination of mango and bittermelon in the salad.
Mango bittergourd salad
Ingredients
- 1 large mango
- 1 medium bitter gourd
- 1 small red onion
- 2 tbsp coriander leaves chopped fine.
- 1/4 tsp pink salt
- 1 tbsp lime juice
Instructions
- Wash and peel the ripe mango. Peel the mango and dice the flesh into cubes.
- Wash, core and slice the bittermelon ( bittergourd ) into slices.
- Finely chop the red onion.
- Add all these to the into a mixing bowl and add in the chopped coriander leaves.
- Sprinkle the salt and the lime juice and stir ir in.
- Mix well and leave it aside for 10 minutes.
- Keep in the refigerator till it is ready to serve.
An interesting combo of bittergourd and mango in a salad .. I am intrigued by the flavor profile when we take a bite . Must try for sure !
It looks quite a unique salad recipe. But bitter gourd lovers would love it. The sweetness of mangoes must be balancing the taste of bitter gourds. Shall bookmark this recipe from Philippines.
Loved the travalogue snippets woven into this recipe, I can imagine that toddler there. I am halfway there into liking bittergourd, but I think the husband – a huge fan of bittermelon- would love this instantly…