Bitter gourd Chips

Bitter gourd has become a regular for me these days, not so much for my hubby though. The reason I consume them on a regular basis is that I have seen a big difference in blood sugars on days I have bitter gourd.  I am really glad that my local farmers market have them.  I couldn't find curry leaves though :( The only Indian grocery store that we have nearby is a Pakistani Grocery store a couple of miles from our place and the kind gentleman is good enough to give me a couple of sprigs from his home garden every time I shop there and it lasts for a 2 weeks if I use them sparingly.  Curry leaves have turned into a precious commodity for me here :(

Coming on to the recipe, this is one of the simplest and easiest of bitter gourd dishes and tastes good too. These fries go very well as a side dish with rice and any gravies like sambar, rasam, vatha kuzumbu or just plain curd rice. These can be deep fried or if you have a little time, you can bake them too.  I tried both the versions and there is no much difference in the taste. These days, I use the baking method only to cut down the calories from the fries.

Ingredients:
1. Bitter gourd, 3-4 medium-size ones, sliced into thin circles.
2. Chili powder or sambar powder, 1 teaspoon.
3. Turmeric powder, a pinch.
4. Ginger-garlic paste, 1/2 teaspoon.
5. Salt as per taste.

Preparation:
Mix the bitter gourd slices with the powders, ginger-garlic paste, and salt. You can deep fry the slices until they are crisp or they can be baked. In this case, spread the slices evenly on a cookie sheet and spray them with oil spray and bake them at 375 degrees for 30-45 minutes until they are crisp.