Stuffed Karela / Stuffed Bitter Gourd
- 22
- June
- 2010
Gutti Kaakarkaye. Pavakka Nirachadhu. Masala Pavakkai. Pavakkai Masala.
Ingredients
Bitter Gourd/ Bitter Melon – 4-8
Red onions finely chopped 1 large bowl full
Tomatoes 4 finely chopped
Ginger-garlic paste 1 teaspoon
Jaggery/brown sugar 1 gooseberry size
Garam masala powder 1/2 spoon
Salt
Turmeric powder 1/4 spoon
Chili powder 1 spoon
Coriander powder 1 spoon
Cumin seeds powder 1 spoon
Curry leaves few
Cumin seeds
Sesame oil few spoons.
Method:
1. Trim the ends of the gourd. Scrap away the serrated ridges. Wash and clean. Now, make an incision at one end vertically. Remove the pith and seeds, using back of a spoon or any instrument of your choice.
2. Now one could steam cook the gourd for 10 minutes. When the vegetable is semi done, set aside. I skipped this step tho’.
3. Heat oil, in a pan…add cumin seeds, allow this to pop and crackle. Then add ginger-garlic paste. Fry them for a while and followed by onions. Fry till they are translucent. Add tomatoes plus jaggery, cover and cook over medium heat.
4. Add salt, turmeric, chili, coriander, cumin and garam masala powders. When the masala turns aromatic enough, turn off the heat.
5. Stuff this masala into bitter gourd. One can stitch the gourd using needle and thread or simply leave it.
6. Heat oil in a pan. Add this stuffed vegetable and remaining masala too. Fry them over high heat, without lid. Let the vegetable turn to golden brown color and slightly crispy.
Garnish with fried curry leaves. Serve this side dish for Pulkah roti or curd rice. Enjoy:)
Malar i like the makeover of bitter gourd by you. Looks really good.
wow mouth watering…
wow wow wowwwww looks very crispy and delicious dear
stuffed karela looks very delicious n spicy …i don’t like to eat that much because of its bitterness but my hubby love them …i will make this for him …
Stuffed bittergourd tempts me a lot, really inviting..
like karela…especially this stuffed ones..never took pain to make this..my mom would make this slightly different than yours version..looks super duper delicious!
malar this is a delicious and tasty stuffing healthy too sure i eill try with different or the same stuffing.. nice one dear
Hi Malar,
I love karelas…this is such a mouthwatering dish! When I make regular karela fry, I soak the karela pieces in lime juice to remove some of the bitterness. Would you recommend doing that for this dish?
I also wanted to thank you for visiting my blog and for your kind words. Do visit again when you get a chance.
Malar, that looks delicious. I know it sounds weird, but I have actually never tried bharwa Karela…
Hi, i hava a doubt. In the last step, after filling, do we have to deep fry the filled karelas, hope the fillings doen’t spill out in the oil
Looks nice, but never tried stuffing in a bitter gourd, something different and nice…
stuffed karelas looks delicious
i dont like` bitter gourd much..but amma always says that it contain many nutritious value…..if it is made like theeyal i like to have…but this one looks nice….colour ful….
Bitterguard looks nice in your recipe with all those masala stuffing..
Rachana,
Yeah soaking in butter milk or lemon juice water is good to get rid of that extreme bitterness. You could do that.
Niveditha,
I think I pan fried the vegetables after stuffing. Yep, since I didn’t stitch it…some of the stuff fell apart, but not everything. However, that was the plan, as I added extra masala to coat all over the sides too.
So, if you feel its messy…please stitch the bitter gourd after stuffing. Maybe you could deep-fry too:)
I love this. Should be trying this very soon.
wow the stuffed karelas look really yummy