Karela Sabzi (Spiced Bitter Gourd)
A dish you won't be able to refuse—bitter gourd mixed with onions, tomatoes, and spices!
Ingredients
- 12 small karela (choose the smaller, thinner ones)
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp red chili powder (or to taste)
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- ¼ tsp tumeric (optional)
- ¼ tsp garam masala
- 2 medium onions (diced)
- ¼ cup cooking oil
Instructions
To Prepare Karela
- Scrub the karela with a brush. Pat dry, then scrape and save the top ridged skin (chilka) in a utensil.
- When the skin has been nicely scraped off, salt the karela and the skins separately (about 1 teaspoon of salt, each) and set aside for at least one hour. The longer it brines, the less bitter it will taste.
- After an hour, squeeze as much of the juice out of both the karela and the skins.
- Save the juice, dilute with water and drink it. It is a good blood purifier and help slower blood sugar–but it tastes awfully bitter!!
To Cook
- Slit the brined karela through the middle on one side and remove any hard seeds.
- Dice the onions, but not too finely.
- Heat oil in a large wok or heavy bottomed pan. Add in the karela carefully to avoid spluttering. It might be a good idea to use a splatter guard. Sauté until nicely dark brown all over. You will have to stir them from time to time. This should take about 10 mins.
- Set aside the sautéed karela on a paper towel to drain the excess oil.
- In the remaining oil in the pan (add a little more if you have to), add the karela skins and sauté till nicely browned.
- Add the chopped onions and stir-fry for another 5-8 minutes.
- Now mix in the fried karela and masalas and let them cook together for another 2-3 minutes. Taste for salt, although I doubt you will need to add any—unless you are like me!! Stir a few more times, and you are done.
- Spoon into a dish, and it is ready to be served.
- Best eaten with rotis or as a side dish with rice and dal.