Bharwan Karela | Stuffed Bittergourd | Bharwa Karela
Author: Vindhya Desai
Recipe type: Side
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-5 people
- 4-5 small karela/bitter gourd
- 2 Tbsp oil
- 1 Tsp amchur powder
- ½ Tsp red chilli powder/lal mirch/acchu mensina pudi
- ½ Tsp garam masala
- 1 Tsp dhania powder
- ¼ Tsp turmeric
- ¼ Tsp jeera powder
- 2-3 Tbsp besan
- Salt to taste
- 1 Tbsp oil
- ½ Tsp jeera
- 1 sliced onion
- 1 Tsp sugar
- Salt to taste
- ¼ Cup water
- Wash karela/haagalkayi very well and pat dry
- Lightly peel the karela and make a slit down the centre without cutting into half
- Scoop out the seeds and remove the hard part if there is any
- Apply little salt and keep aside
- In a pan, heat oil, add all masalas mentioned under stuffing except besan
- Saute the masala for 10-20 seconds on low flame
- When the masalas release their aroma, add besan
- Fry the besan very well till raw smell disappears
- Once the besan is aromatic, sprinkle salt, mix
- Keep aside, this is the stuffing
- In another pan, heat oil and splutter jeera
- Add onions and saute till they are sweet and roasted
- Sprinkle salt and sugar to taste
- When onions are sauteing, stuff the karela. Place a spoonful of stuffing in the cavity of each karela
- Tie each karela with a clean white thread so that the stuffing stays inside
- Place the stuffed and tied karela in the onion masala
- Spread the remaining besan stuffing on top
- Cover and cook for 5 minutes, flip mid-way
- Sprinkle sugar to taste
- Now pour water, cover and let it cook further 5 minutes
- Once the karela is cooked through and changes colour, garnish with chopped coriander
- Bharwan karela is now ready to serve!
Ensure the bitter-gourds are tender and do not have hard skin or seeds
Add sugar as per your taste, skip to make it diabetic-friendly
Adjust masalas as per your taste, add more red chilli powder or garam masala for a spicier masala
Wash the karela in salted water if they are too bitter but this washes away the nutrients, lightly sprinkling with salt is sufficient
Recipe by Food Of Interest at https://foodofinterest.com/bharwan-karela/
3.5.3226