Perhaps, people hate karela (bitter gourd) because they haven’t tried the right way of making it. My mom always used to make Punjabi bharwan karela recipe (stuffed bitter gourd) for us, and now I’ve taken it over. Her signature karela was “besan ka karela” (gram flour bitter gourd dumplings). A yum and delicious way to eat scrapes of karela. You just might be surprised how delicious karela scrapes/karela can taste if they’re prepared right. Follow a step by step tutorial below. Besides the bitterness part, karela has many health benefits.
It purifies blood. It’s juice is good for diabetic people. My dad used to drink 1/2 a cup of karela juice empty stomach every morning. Rich source of Vitamins and minerals like iron and calcium. Great source of dietary fiber and potassium.
So many goodness in one single vegetable. Let’s see how to prepare it in a delicious way. First let’s focus on the first step – how to reduce it’s bitterness? Here are a few tips to refuce bitterness from bitter gourd.
Scrape the rugged surface until its smooth. Scrape, don’t peel the karela. Make a slit on one side of karela and remove the seeds if they are too big. Rub each karela with sour curd and set it aside for 30 – 40 minutes. My mom used to rub lots of salt on karela to reduce its bitterness. You can use either one of them. Use double the quantity of salt or curd. After the desired time, wash karela under cold running water and remove all the salt or curd. Squeeze out the excess water and set them aside. Karela (bitter gourd) is ready for cooking.
Dry roast karelas in a hot pan. Roasting karelas (bitter gourd) brings out their flavor and makes the dish all the more delicious! Prepare a spice mix to stuff the karelas. For extra crunchiness, my mom added caramelized onions and potato fries to this dish. To finish the dish, combine caramelized onions, cooked potato slices, karela, spice mix and besan ka karela. Cover and let it simmer for couple of minutes and you are all set. Pair Punjabi bharwan karela recipe with your favorite dal and enjoy!! If karela is your least favorite vegetable, I ask you to at least give it a chance and sometimes using different methods to cook a vegetable can result into mouthwatering dishes. Check out other bharwan recipes – bharwan baingan, bharwan dum aloo, bharwan shimla mirch, bharwan mirchi recipe. If you happen to make this recipe, please leave me a comment or share your pics with me on Facebook. I would love to see your creation and would be happy to answer any questions. Cheers!
