Bitter Gourd Frittata

Diceydi's Note:

My Sri Lankan friend gave me the seeds which grew and produced gourds. Now how to cook it? My Thai friend told me that the Thais make them into an omelette. I have added a few other ingredients and this is the result. I think it tastes quite good, but even better with a splash of sweet chilli sauce before serving. Bitter gourd needs to be salted and then rinsed. The salt removes some of the bitterness.

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 3

• 3 bitter melons
• salt
• 1/2 lemon, juice of
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 red capsicum, roughly chopped
• 2 slices bacon, trimmed of fat and rind and roughly chopped
• 1 -2 tablespoon turmeric
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 -2 kaffir lime leaf, finely sliced
• 6 eggs, beaten
• sweet chili sauce
• butter (for frying)

Directions:

1. Cut bitter gourd in half, remove the seeds and discard leaving just the outer green skin. Slice thinly into half moons and sprinkle liberally with salt and let stand for an hour. Wash well and strain. Add lemon juice and mix well.
2. Melt some butter in a large oven proof frying pan and fry onion and capsicum until softened. Add bacon and quickly stir fry. Add bitter gourd and lemon juice and stir fry. When gourd has softened, add kaffir lime leaves, mix and add eggs. Reduce heat and allow omelette to cook on the bottom. Preheat grill. When the omelette starts to bubble on the top in the middle, remove from stove top and put under grill for about 5 minutes until the top has set.
3. Cut into portions and splash with sweet chilli sauce. Eat hot and serve with a salad - I used coleslaw.