Stuffed Karela

During our morning walk, some of my friends were talking how good the stuffed karela they made had turned out. I was very intrigued by it and asked my friend for the recipe. She mentioned just using simple masala powders but addition of saunf ( sombu, fennel ) and amchoor was very exciting to me. I have always prepared karela in a very simple way with onions, tomatoes and they still had some bitter taste to it. I searched on line for some recipes and found this one Here. I pretty much followed the recipe except for some minor tweaks.

It takes a little time as they are multiple steps ( marinate the karela, make the stuffing, stuff the karela and then cook it), but it is well worth it.  Scraping the karela was a new technique to me and the scarppings are used to stuff the karela. how cool is that? I loved the stuffing that I helped myself for few generous spoons.

My husband and I really liked the karela cooked this way. My kids were not brave enough to try this yet!

Get Ready ( Serves 2- 4)

• 4 small Karela/ Pagakkai/ bitter melon
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp tamarind paste ( optional)

For the stuffing

• 3-4 Tbsp oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp hing/ asafetida/ perungayam
• 2 Tbsp gram flour/ kadalai mavu
• 1 Tbsp fennel seeds powder/ saunf powder/ sombu powder
• 1 Tbsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
•  salt to taste
• 2 Tbsp Amchoor powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder ( as per taste)

white thread to wrap the karela.

Go:

• Wash the karelas and scrape the outside ridge like part. Collect the scrapings and set aside.

• Make a lengthwise slit on the karelas, without cutting it completely in half. remove the flesh and seeds from inside and discard them.

• In a wide bowl add the karela, sprinkle them with generous amount of salt outside and inside the slit.
• Mix the lemon juice and tamarind paste well. pour 3/4 th of it all over the karela outside and inside.

• Add the scrapings to a bowl and marinate the same way with salt, lemon juice and tamarind paste.
• Set aside to marinate for an hour.
• After an hour, squeeze all the water out of the whole karela and the scrapings. Wash the karelas in water set aside. keep the marinated karela scrapings aside too.

Prepare the stuffing.

• In a pan, add 2 tsp of oil. Once hot add the cumin seeds and let it crackle. add the asafetida.
• Add the marinated scraping of karela and fry for a minute.

•  Add the gram flour/ kadalai mavu to this and fry for a minute till the raw smell goes away.

•  Now add the fennel seed powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chilli and amchoor powder and mix everything well.

•  fry for a minute, turn the heat off and set aside.The stuffing for karelas is ready.

Cook the karelas

• Once the stuffing in cool to handle, fill them inside the karelas that have been marinated and slit. 

• Wrap the stuffed karelas with a thread. Just a simple wrap, no need to tie a knot etc. This helps to hold the stuffing inside while cooking.

• In a wide pan, add 1 Tbsp of oil, place the stuffed karelas, sprinkle some salt.

•  Cover the pan and cook for 2 mins on medium heat

• Flip the karelas so that all the sides are getting cooked, by keeping them covered for a few mins and opening them. if the bottom is getting dry add oil little by little.
• You will have some more stuffing left. Sprinkle it on top of the karelas, add a little water, cover and cook on low heat till all sides of karelas are done.
• Once they are done, open the lid and cook till the karelas are soft and the filling is roasted.

Serve with rice, rasam, samabar or eat it like that. The addition of saunf and amchoor takes away the bitterness so well and it tastes wonderful. Remember to take the thread away before eating.

Other variations:

You can add some onions, garlic. ginger to the stuffing as well.

Enjoy!

Oven baked Karela/ Oven baked Bitter Melon

I have posted couple of karela / pagakka recipes Stuffed karela, karela fry

This recipe was shared by my friend, and I have tried it couple of times and comes out very tasty. I have used 6 small karelas. There is no recipe as such, the addition of all masala powders are per your taste. Me and my husband really enjoyed this and.

Get ready:

• 5-6 karelas washed

For the marinade:

• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 -2 tsp red chili powder
• 1-2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp amchur powder (optional)
• Juice from 1/2 lime
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Go

• Preheat oven to 375 degree F. Line a baking sheet with foil and brush a table spoon of oil. Set this aside.

• Scrape / peel the outer ridges of the karela. You can omit this step if you don't care for a little more bitterness. You can either discard the scrapings or use it in the marinade as well.
• Cut the karelas in half and scoop out the seeds using a spoon.

• Cut the karelas in thin circles.

• In a bowl add the circular slices of karela, all the ingredients  under marinade and toss them all well with clean hands. You want the marinade to fully coat the karelas.
• Adjust salt and spices as per taste.

• Cover this and let it marinate on the counter for 20-30 mins
• Spread the karelas on the lined baking sheet and bake them for 20-30 mins or until crisp.

• Remove from the oven and serve. If you want crispier, let the karelas sit in the oven for few more minutes after you turn the oven off.

Tastes great with rice, by itself as a munching snack and with yogurt.

Try this and tell me if you like it.

Karela fry/ Pagakka kari

I never was a fan of karelas as a kid. In my household karelas were only used for pulikozhambus, pitlai and sambhar. I became a big karela eater once i tasted the thinly sliced deep fried ones. I don't know why these fried stuff tastes so good, but bad for you :((

I don't deep fry them, but cook them with lots of onions, tomatoes and spices to take the bitterness away. These are perfect accompaniments to either rice or chappathis.

They can be sliced as rounds or cut thin wedges. The key is to remove those seeds and pulp from the centre as they are not so nice!

Get ready:

• 4 karelas sliced round
• 1 tsp sambar powder
•  1/4 tsp salt
• drizzle olive oil
• 1/2 onion sliced
• 2 small tomatoes chopped
• 1 tsp sambar powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp asafetida/ hing
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp urad dal
• 1 red chilli

Go:

• Marinate the sliced karelas with  a drizzle of olive oil, 1/4 tsp salt and sambhar powder for about 20 mins.
• In a pan, heat oil and do the tadka with mustard seeds, urad dal and red chilli.
• Add the sliced onions and fry till they are brown.
• Add the tomatoes and fry till they are all mushy.
• Now add the karelas, hing, and mix well.
• Reduce the flame, cover let the karelas sweat as they cook.
• Add salt to taste, sambhar powder, coriander powder and mix well.
• Uncover and cook on alow flame tossing them intermittently till they are browned and well coated with spices.

Enjoy!