Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Karela ki sabji



There are some vegetables that never make it to our favourites' list. Most gourds, especially the bitter gourd for obvious reasons. But this recipe is very easy to make and is liked by many;even those who do not like the bitterness in karela (bitter gourd). Try it out and I hope you really like it. In this version, tamarind is used, instead of green mangoes, to help to reduce some of the bitterness.

Preparation time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients:
5-6 pieces Bitter gourd (Karelas)
1 tbsp mustard seeds (rai)
1 tbsp cumin seeds (jeera)
pinch of asafoetida (hing)
4-5 curry leaves
2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated or chopped small.
4-5 green chillies, finely chopped.
1 tsp chilli powder, more if you like it hot.
1 tbsp corainder powder (Dhanai powder)
2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
2 tbsp cup tamarind pulp
1/4 cup water

Method:
1. Scrape the rough skin off the karelas gently. Top and tail and slice into 1/2-1 cm. thick slices.

2. Take all the karelas and apply some salt and haldi to these pieces and leave it for about 1/2 an hour.

3. Then wash the karelas and drain out the water completely.
4. In the pan, heat the oil add mustard seeds (rai) and cumin seeds (jeera). When they start to crackle.
5. Add pinch of asafoetida (hing), curry leaves, ginger, green chilli, turmeric powder and chilli powder in the oil and add the tamarind pulp and water to it. By stirring continously add corainder powder (dhania), salt to the mixture.




6. When all the water is evaporated and oil begins to separate. Add karela pieces to the mixture and if needed add little water to cook the karelas. Cook it until the karela are soft and tender.



7. Garnish with corainder leaves and serve hot with roti or paratha.



Notes: Making tamarind pulp; soak approximately 2 inch piece of tamarind block in warm/hot water. Mash it well. Remove seeds and fibre by straining through a metal sieve. The end result should be a thick pulp. This dish freezes well and can be made in bulk.

21 comments:

Sharmi said...

hmm that sound very simple and nice. looks yummy too. I love karela subzis. I have one version of bharvan karela in my blog which is my favorite.

Sia said...

that looks very exotic athika. i love bitter gourd for that matter n i can almost taste it right now looking at those pictures:)

Suma Gandlur said...

Yes. You are right. Karela is not everyone's favorite. Your version looks simple and delicious for any one to try.
BTW, you are so cute.

Anonymous said...

I love Karela and this is a very simple recipe, am going to try it soon. Thanks for posting good recipes.
Meghana

Athika said...

Thanks everyone. Hope u like my recipe. Even it is not my favourite but after trying this recipe I like it a lot.

Padma said...

I love karelas and soon will try this version, thanks for sharing

Shella said...

Like you this gourd is not in my favorite list too, but your version surely looks worth giving a try.

Loveena said...

Hi... just a question ? can you get the karela to cook if tamarind is added???? Normally veggies do not cook once Tamarind is added..... So let me know if this works

Unknown said...

Seems a very yummy recipe..Today i am gonna cook for sure :)

Vivek Manek aka Viky m said...

hi thr .... i m a newbie @ cokking ..n ws just curios ...y do v have to leave thm in salt and turmeric for half an hr ? ....

Benoni said...

hi aathika

Thanks for your karela sabzi recipe...twas wonderful....Can I request you for Gajar ka halwa.

I love it..But since away from home the best option is to make it.

If you could spare time..please ....

ashima said...

hi Aakitha,

thanks for wonderful karela sabzi recipe.
i and my husband both love this sabzi..
do post your other unique and tasty sabzi.
best
ashima

UjjU said...

Thanks for this recipe Athika. I tried it today & it turned out excellent. Both me & my husband liked it a lot. :)

Anonymous said...

instead of tamrind pulp i tried tomatoes grated n also 2-3pcs of black n dry kokam....
turned out very yummy....
tamrind flavour is kinda more common so thgt of experimenting n it worked
thnx for d recepe though....

Anonymous said...

tried ur recipe worked out nice. bit of jaggery gives flavour and taste

Anonymous said...

Just tried this recipe and it turned out good. Thanx for sharing.

abhineet said...

I am alone at home (as my family is out for some days) and I know nothing about cooking. I just picked 5-6 gourds from my kitchen garden and I think I'd go for it. Thanks

Anonymous said...

karelas cants be made more tastier than this...
thanku so much for the yammy reciepe..

Anonymous said...

I tried with recipe but I am not sure if my tamarind juice was thick. It didn't turn out great..:-( In fact it was just like boiled kerala with salt ...

Anonymous said...

Tried this recipe and i loved it. Tamarind taste had mild down the bitter taste of karela. Thanks for posting this recipe:)

mayurkirti said...

Why would you get rid of all the bitter juice by soaking in sodium, squeezing out everything, rinsing, and flying the karela? Whats the health benefit of eating a vegetable after this? I am guessing there is a reason why we should eat something that tastes "bitter". What is your opinion on this?