Bitters too can be drool-worthy!! Can you imagine?
Yes, this is true with the karela or bitter gourd which is stuffed with Raw Mango. Both are summer picks and it is is so exciting to cook them together and surprisingly they complement each other
Just don’t hate the gourd for its bitter taste and looks, but make it your favourite by adding one flavour or the other. This summer vegetable has a lot more to make itself your favourite. This is a rich source of vitamins and minerals. It’s vitamin A is twice than the spinach. This has anti ageing, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Its peel and seeds contain more nutrients than their flesh.
I always cook it with the peels on. With the stuffing of wet and dry masala, the bitterness of this gourd goes down. This wonderful masala combines raw mango, ginger, garlic, and a couple of dried spices. And above all when paired with kadhi or dal preparations karela makes a killer combination
Prep time – 20 minutes
Cook time – 25 minutes
Course – Main
Cuisine – Indian Punjabi
Author – Bharti Dhawan
Ingredients Required
• Karela/bitter gourd – 500 g ( rinsed well)
• Mustard oil or any other oil – 3 tbsp
• Raw mango – 1 no medium-sized)
• Ginger -2-inch piece
• Garlic cloves – 5-6
• Salt – 2 tsp/To taste
• Red chilly powder – 2 tsp
• Haldi/turmeric powder – 2 tsp
• Garam masala powder – 1 tsp
• Ajwain/carom seeds – 1 tsp
• Saunf/ fenal powder – 1 tsp
• Coriander powder – 3 tsp
STEP BY STEP
1- Peel mango, ginger and garlic and pound a coarse mix in a blender( not a fine paste as a fine paste is watery)
2- Transfer this paste to a bowl and add all the spices(red chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric, cumin, ajwain, garam masala, and salt to this mix
3- Slit karelas/ bitter gourds with a sharp pointed knife running in between making a cavity but leaving the ends. Stuff this masala mix tightly into the slits with fingers
4- When all karelas are stuffed bind them with threads so that masala does not come out while shallow frying
5- Heat oil to the smoking point and add all the karela to it with spice side up. Reduce the flame to low
- This is advised to cook them at low flame so that, they cook from inside too. Remember we haven’t peeled them
6- Turn the sides gently to allow them to cook evenly. Now for the last 10 minutes Cook them covering with the lid.
7- Turn after intervals and give a sprinkle of water. If there is masala left, add it to the dish and mix well. Cover the pan and let the sabzi cook to perfection. Now, switch off the flame. Let them remain covered to become soft in steam.
8- When karela is cooked, switch off the flame and allow it to cool down a little. Now, remove the threads to untie them and serve the unique karela/ bitter gourd preparation with moong-masoor dal or kadhi. Hope you will love the combination
Notes
If you don’t want to cook karela with their peels on. Remove the skin and rub salt all over the gourd. Leave for half an hour and rinse under water. This will help to reduce the bitterness of karela