Mamta's Kitchen

Karela Bitter Gourd Bhaji/Sabji With Lemon Juice

Karela Ki Sabji

Reeta Kumar

IndianMainVegetarian

Note from Mamta: This easy recipe comes from my younger sister Reeta.

Bitter Gourd or Bitter melon or Karela fruit, botanical name Momordica charantia, is a tropical vegetable, very popular in India and China. Chinese Karela looks less spiky than the Indian one, it is lighter in colour and it is perhaps a little less bitter.

This dish freezes well. I freeze it in serving portion sizes for us, in zip-lock bags or small plastic containers or even small jam jars. I never buy jars, they are the empty ones from whatever I have used up. Karelas are eaten in small quantity, rather like a pickle and they are an acquired taste, you either love them or hate them! Serves 4

Karela has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for centuries. Karela juice is excellent for diabetics, because it contains high doses of "plant insulin", as a skin tonic/ It is good for treating itching, rash, acne, boils, scabies, ringworm and psoriasis. For medicinal purpose, it is best to have juice of raw karela, which is not easy to drink, as it is extremely bitter. When cooking, other souring agents are usually added, in order to remove the bitterness. In north India, this means raw mangoes, fresh or dried. In other areas, tamarind and lemons are used.

Ingredients

  • 2-4 fresh bitter gourds or karela (they vary greatly in size, so approximately 500 gm.), washed and thickly sliced

  • 1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced or chopped

  • 2 tbsp. mustard oil

  • 1 tbsp cumin seeds or jeera or Panch Pooran/Phoran

  • A good pinch of asafoetida or hing (optional)

  • 1/2 tbsp. turmeric (huldi) powder

  • 1 tbsp coriander (dhania) powder

  • 1 tsp. fennel (saunf) powder

  • Chilli powder to taste

  • Salt to taste

  • Juice of half a lemon or 1 tsp dry mango powder (amchoor). I chop up and add the remaining lemon skin l after squeezing the juice in.

Instructions

  1. Heat the oil in a Karahi/wok. Add cumin seeds and asafoetida powder.

  2. When the seeds splutter, add onions and karela slices, coriander powder, ground fennel, salt, chilli powder, turmeric.

  3. Mix well and cook covered, stirring from time to time, until karela slices and onions are soft .

  4. Add lemon juice or mango powder (amchoor) and then the lemon skins.

  5. Continue to cook covered on a low flame, until karela slices are cooked.

  6. Taste and adjust seasoning.

  7. Raise heat and stir-fry until the karela/onion mix looks shiny and slightly browned.

  8. Serve hot as part of a meal or on their own with freshly made Parathas.

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