Bitter Melon Curry

It can be difficult to find vegetables for vegetarian dishes that will keep their texture for any length of time. One of the best is the bitter melon, a type of gourd that you will see in Asian shops, looking rather like a scaly ant-eater and somewhat prehistoric. It should be bought young and dark green, in which case you can use the whole vegetable. If it is paler, the seeds will be hard and need to be discarded. But it is an excellent vegetable for adding to all sorts of dishes. An Irish