Bharwa Karela

Iam so happy to be back and writing on my blog again. After the not so positive returning post,let get's to my first recipe of the year.

Iam very fond of karela.For those of you not familiar with the Karela, its also called bitter gourd(yes,its bitter but there are ways to do away with that.)From what I know, the bitter gourd has excellent medicinal virtues and one of its multiple medicinal uses if for diabetic patients to lower their sugar.Iam sure its got a ton of other uses(let's save that for another day.)I can tell you that as a child, I did not deal well with this weird looking, oh-my-god-bitter vegetable(but then kids are famous for not eating their veggies.My mom was very persistent though and with time I have come to love this humble looking green colored vegetable.



Before you even ask me, I want to tell you how to remove the bitterness. Once its peeled,karela is rubbed with salt and then left alone for a while.The juice that oozes from this process this process is drained and voila,you are now ready to make "stuffed bitter gourd" a.k.a bharwa karela or any other preparation that you may want.Let's start,shall we?:))

You need:

8 long Bitter Gourds
5 grated Onions(I use the box grater)
2 teaspoons Ginger paste
2 teaspoons garlic paste
2 teaspoons Amchur(Dried Mango Powder)
1 teaspoon Red Chili Powder
2 teaspoon Coriander Powder
2 tablespoons canola oil to pan fry(you can use any other oil)
1.5 teaspoon to cook the stuffing
salt to taste

This is how you make it:

Wash and peel the bittergourds. Slit them in the Center keeping the end intact. Sprinkle salt on the peeled bittergourds(eye ball it)and let them sit for half and hour.Fry the grated onions till they turn brown,then add ginger and garlic and stir.Add dried mango powder,red chilly powder,coriander powder and cook.Take it off after its cooked and let the mixture cool. Now pan fry the bittergourds carefully till they turn brown in color.keep them aside and let them cool.Your stuffing and bittergourds are now ready for the next step.Stuff the bittergourds with the mixture carefully, leave a spoon or two for later.Now arrange them in a pan, add the mixture, remaining oil and a little bit of water, the remaining mixture and cover the pan.Now cook on low heat for about 10-15 minutes. Serve hot with rotis/paratha.



I dedicate this recipe to my friend "V" who loves it:) Enjoy!!