Stuffed Bitter Gourd (Paria Isi)

Original Cooking from Central Sulawesi, Indonesia

Ingredients :
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, to saute
2 preserved fish, ground well
300 ml coconut milk from 1/2 coconut
10 bitter gourd, remove seed, boiled
1 egg, mix well
250 ml vegetable oil, to fry

Spice Paste :
1 teaspoon ground pepper
5 shallots
3 cloves garlic
5 red chillies
2 1/2 cm fresh turmerice
salt to taste

Grind all spice paste ingredients using a granite pestle. Saute ground spices ingredients until fragrance. Add fish and stir well. Gradually pour coconut milk. Cook on low heat until done and the water dries. Take 2 tablespoon of fish filling and stuff it to prepared bitter gourd. Place stuffed gourd into egg mixture. Heat oil. Fry bitter gourd until golden brown. Cut and serve.

Makes : 10 servings

Source : Selera Magazine, April 2002