Bharwan Karela

Jun 12, 2020

Serves: 6

Why you should make this recipe:

Karela has many medicinal and nutritional value in it. It’s good for diabetes, helps for wight loss and increase our immunity system.

Bharwan karela or bittergourd has lots of memories attached with it. My Mother in law added in their childhood all the kids in home used to have a healthy competition of who will take out the thread fast by just using 2 fingers only.

My Mother in Law loves this dish. She makes the Bharwan Karela by stuffing the bittergourd with a basic stuffing of onion and tomato with some spices; The tanginess from the tomato in the stuffing balances the bitterness of the karela quite well. It is very tasty dish and I recommend you try it

Ingredients

Bitter gourd-12 pcs
Chop onion- 2 cups
Chop tomato-2 cups
Chop garlic-10 cloves
Chop ginger-1/4 cup
Turmeric powder-1 tsp
Chilli powder-1 tbsp
Amchur powder-1 tsp
Cumin seed-1/2 tsp
Mustard oil-4 tbsps
Salt-to taste

Method

Wash, peel and slit the Bitter gourd lengthwise.
Mix with salt and leave it in the colander for about an hour to remove the bitterness.
Meanwhile make the stuffing
In a pan heat the oil, add the cumin seed
Add and saute the garlic, ginger and onion then add the tomato as well.
After a while Add the spices and salt to taste
Take the bitter gourd out from the colander and squeeze it gently to remove the excess water
Stuff the bittergourd through the slits
Tie the bittergourd with a string so that the stuffing remains inside. This tying is called Trussing in a professional kitchen
Place it the pan and drizzle the oil over the bitter gourd.
Cook it in a pan for about 15 minutes in low medium heat.

Cooking Tip
While you stuff the spiced stuffing into the bitter gourd, let the mixture be hot so that it will slightly cook the bitter gourd inside