Bitter Gourd-Margoz

The bitter gourd or bitter melon is the fruit of a tropical creeper. It has a warty skin and grows to a maximum length of 20cm. The skin is light to bright green when immature, which is when it should be eaten. Its firm, green, very bitter flesh is something of an acquired taste. It is usually used raw in salads, tossed in hot oil as chutneys or as an ingredient in curries. The fibrous seed core is usually cut away, leaving a thin ring of flesh. The ripe gourd is usually orange-yellow and not used in cookery. It is considered as a super food for its medicinal properties.

The creole cook uses the bitter gourd very regularly in salad as well as in the local asar. Some people like to prepare their salad by soaking the sliced gourd in salted water and then squeeze as much moister from it as possible. This tends to remove some of the bitterness. Some people prefer not to soak it but use it raw. In this case it will be more crunchy but also much more bitter.