Bitter Melon, Pepper Soup and other Recipes

After our Ayurveda class, Transitions to Winter on November 16, several students have asked about the recipe for Pepper Soup and more information about Bitter Melon (Gourd).

Here are recipes for both from Mysore, India, from the cookbook, Exotic Cuisine of Mysore, by Pratibha Kattemalavadi. Ingredients can be found at Patel Bros and ValuMarket.

Pepper Soup is often fed to us when we are not feeling well, cooked by Nagarathna Rao, our Mysore Mom. This recipe sounds similar to hers:

I cup Toor Dal (mung dal may also be used)
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 pinch asafoetida
1 lemon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2-3 curry leaves (available fresh at Patel Bros)
Heat 1 tsp oil in a frying pan and fry 1-1/2 tsp cumin seeds, pepper, coriander seeds, and curry leaves. Remove from heat and belnd in a blender without water. Coo the dal in 4 cups water . Add salt, sugar, the blended spice powder, and squeeze the lemon juice in. Boil for a few minutes and add this seasoning mixture:
Heat 1 tsp oil in a frying pan and fry 1/2 tsp cumin and asafoetida for a few seconds.
Soup can be served with rice, but Nagarathna always served it by itself.

Bitter Gourd Spiced Curry
 5 medium sized bitter gourd
1/2 cup grated fresh coconut
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tblsp fried chana dal (split chickpeas)
1 tsp foenugreek
1/2 tsp tumeric
1-2 green chilies
1 tblsp white sesame seeds
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tblsp tamarind paste
1/2-1 tblsp salt
3-4 tblsp sugar

Cut bitter gourd into small cubes. Dry fry or roast sesame seeds until it stops popping. Remove from heat. Blend grated coconut, mustard seeds, fried chana, tumeric, green chilies, fried sesame seeds together with water to make a fine paste. 
Heat oil in a frying pan. Add mustard seeds and foenugreek, and when they are finished popping, add the bitter gourd cubes. Fry until golden brown. Add tamarind paste, salt, sugar and 1/3 cup water. Boil for 1 minute. Add the blended spice mixture, cook for 3 minutes.
Serve with hot rice.

More information about Bitter Melon and its sues and properties can be found extensively on the internet, eg: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momordica_charantia

Being on time and other topics....

Recently we posted a link to an article Why Can't I Come In Late to Yoga Class?  It generated quite a few Likes on our Facebook page, and responses thanking me for posting it. I didn't post it, though. We have several people who are admins for our Facebook page and can post things. I don't really have the time to do a lot of that, and I appreciate our social media maven, Angela Weisser, who handles that for us and also sends out our email newsletter.

I have a problem with lateness myself, so that's an area in which I am not able to cast the first stone. It's something I've been working on, though, as I said in a comment to that post.  Somewhere I read that chronically being late might indicate a belief that's one's own time is more valuable than others' time.  I've tried to work on that tendency ever since. 

Perhaps because I have this tendency myself, I more readily notice it in other people.  I see that the same people are always late to class, and are usually late by the same amount of time, every time.  I also read an article on another news magazine website (I don't remember which one) that said that researchers had done experiments that showed that chronically late people try to pack too many activities into their day, and under-estimate the time it takes to do something, like drive to the grocery store.  Most people give it "30 minutes", but chronically late people will estimate "23 minutes" and try to pack something else into that 7-minute period.

Being late to class is not such a big deal except for all the students who came on time and often have to wait for the latecomer to get it together so class can begin.  If class is full, often other students have ot shuffle their mats around so the late person can fit in.    

Chronic lateness is a samskara - an ingrained habitual behavior or way of thinking.  One of the reasons we practice yoga is to free us from the thinking and behavior patterns which limit our freedom.  The first step in changing our pattern is to recognize that we have it.

Now... how about the people who are chronically early?  I get to the studio early so I can set it up the way I want it with the flowers, lighting, candles, music, etc., so it presents the right atmosphere for my students. I also need quiet time before class begins to mentally prepare.  It's very distracting to arrive at the studio 30-45 minutes early and students are already waiting at the studio to get in and throw their mats down.  15-20 minutes early - that's okay. But 30-45 minutes early?  And then wanting to chat and ask questions?  Not cool.  If you come to my class early, please practice silence.  Time before class is my quiet time to set up the studio and get ready to teach.