Bitter gourd green juice

Can anything be more bitter than pavakka (the local name for bitter gourd)? :-) It is a vegetable which is long, with a ridged surface and is dark green or light green in color. In Malayali cuisine, it is the main ingredient in the preparation of pavakka thoran, pavakka mezhukuvartti, pavakka theeyal and pavakka kondattam.

 

The green juice recipe has a tad of ashwagandha, an ancient medicinal herb that helps reduce stress, anxiety and increase energy levels.

The contents of the miracle drink...

Ash gourd - 250g

Bitter gourd - 1

Gooseberry - 4

Water - 6 glasses

Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Salt - a pinch

Plant-based collagen powder - a smidgeon

Turmeric ginger powder - a tad

Spinach powder - a little

Ashwagandha powder - a bit

Lemon - 1/2

 

 

The modus operandi...

 

 

Remove skin and seeds of ash gourd. Chop bitter gourd into two halves lengthwise. Using a spoon, scrape out and discard the seeds and insides. Cleave ash gourd and bitter gourd into small cubes. Cut gooseberry into small pieces and throw away the seed. 

Fling in ash gourd, bitter gourd, gooseberry and cumin seeds into a blender jar, along with 2 glasses of water. Blitz and strain the juice into a large glass jar. Add in rest of the water, juice of lemon, salt, collagen powder, spinach powder, turmeric ginger powder and ashwagandha powder. Stir to mix the drink. Pour into tall glasses and drink up! I saw a bushy tailed squirrel scurrying up our neem tree while enjoying the juice :-)