RM2- Day 5- Microwaved Bittergourd Fritters (Pavakka Kondattom, Vattal)

All right friends, finally I am taking a break from the Poultry farm ;-) lol . This time its a easy - breezy recipe I decided to share with you. My mother is an expert at making variety of Vegetable Kondattam (vattal or fritters) . Now Kondattam (Vattal) as we call it in Northern part of Kerala are crisps made from drying and/or frying, variety of vegetables, or other items. Remember I quoted it as 'and/or frying' that's because some Kondattams, don't need frying, they can be eaten once the Kondattam ingredient is dried in sun. This time my mother send some Kondattam made of Kotthamara (Guar Beans or Cluster Beans) with my fil who was visiting us. I was so exited to see those as it had been such a long time back since I had those from my mom. I tried to use it sparingly each day as it was a small packet. But V would not let do that for more than 2 days as he too loved the same. Ranji of Ranji's Kitchen Corner who also stays in MA, was having her parents visiting her and they were kind enough to bring some fritters (Odi, that's what we call it in Konkani) from India and we relished them too. It was then that I started searching the net to alternate ways of making these , such as using Microwave. I got a brief idea, but then I thought , me and V make the Lijjat pappad in our microwave in a minute, so maybe we can make Kondattam too. Then instead of frying I sprayed some oil on the Cluster Beans vattal and arranged them on a plate. Microwaved them for 30- 40 seconds and I was amazed to see that it was as good as the fried version. We tried for the fritters too and though they took a little more time, say another 30 seconds than the Vattals, they were equally good. And another thing we noticed was , very little oil was needed. So its kind of healthy too. After that success, I decided to make some Bittergourd fritters. Its my entry for day 5 of Recipe Marathon 2 . This is how I made it:



Ingredients:

Bittergourd: Cut in thin slices (maybe you can use a Mandoline to slice it)

Non-stick spray oil or a little oil to coat all the pieces

A flat plate

Microwave

Marinade:
Red chilli powder
Salt
Vinegar



Marinate the Bittergourd in the marinade (you may add different powders to the marinade for additional flavors, just make sure the pieces dont get too dry) for 15 minutes. Spray some oil to coat all pieces. Arrange them on a flat plate with no overlapping between pieces. Microwave them on high power for 7- 9 minutes, while giving intervals of 2 minutes to move pieces on the plate a little to avoid sticking or burning. Also turn over the pieces so that both sides get done evenly. If you find some pieces are already done, remove them from the plate. Bittergourd fritters are best as an accompany with curd rice. I made a very small batch of these fritters, so please excuse me for the amount of Bittergourd fritters you see in the container you see in these pictures.


Don't forget to check what my other Marathon buddies are up to :)

1) DK

2) Siri

3) Srivalli

4) Ranji

5)PJ

6)Curry Leaf

7)Medha

8)Priya

9)Bhawna

10)Raaji

11)Ruchii

12)Anu

13)Kamala

14)Roopa

15)Divya Kudua

16)Rekha

17)Divya M

18)Lakshmi

19)Raaga

20)Sripriya

21)Viji