Bitter Gourd Achar

Yesterday I had a curry or so I thought. I enquird about the strong flavour. I first thought it must be the stems of a green leafy veggie. I was told its bitter gourd. then i was told its not curry it is achar.
The magic I was told is Sesame powder.

Almost always, Bitter gourd needs to be morphed to make it edible. In Indian cuisine, we either fry it or use tamarind extract. This vegetable is both for cooking and eating purposes appreciated only by elders. Some brown sugar on that might change the idea for kids.

The vegetables were pressure cooked.