Stuffed Karela: 25-Min Recipe

Stuffed Karela or Bharwa Karela is a much-favoured dish.
The late gourmet Arthur J Pais gives the karela a neat slit, deseeds it, fills it with an onion-tomato-garlic stuffing before frying till crisp.

Ingredients

• 8 small karela or bitter gourd
• 2 tbsp mustard oil
• 3 large onions, minced or finely chopped
• 1-inch piece ginger, finely crushed

Ingredients, continued

• 6 pods garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp sugar, preferably brown sugar
• 1 tbsp jeera or cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp brown dhania or coriander seeds, roughly crushed or pounded

Ingredients, continued

• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 large tomato, finely chopped
• 1 cup mixed fresh green dhania or coriander leaves or cilantro and mint leaves, stems removed, or optionally just coriander leaves, ground to a paste

Ingredients, continued

• Vegetable oil for deep frying the stuffed karela
• Sea salt to taste, about 1 tsp
• Salt for the brine, in which the karela will soak
• Water
• Few tbsp lime juice

Method

• Wash the karela and scrape the outer skin if rough and too bumpy.
  Slit the karela on one side from top to bottom.
  Remove the seeds and the soft fibre (some keep the seeds and fibre; you decide!)

Method, continued

• Soak in salted water/brine for at least an hour.
• Heat 2 tbsp mustard oil in a saucepan over medium heat for 1-2 minutes.
  Add onions, garlic, lower the heat and cook till soft.
  Now add sugar, cumin seeds, crushed coriander, garam masala, chopped tomatoes, ground coriander-mint and cook over low heat till it becomes a thick paste for over 10 minutes.
  Add a pinch sea salt, mix, take off heat, keep aside.
• The karela are soaking in brine, so be careful about adding more salt.

Method

• Squeeze the karela of their water, and with a teaspoon, fill the paste into each one and tie them with thin string or thread.
• Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
  When the oil is hot, deep fry the stuffed karela in several batches for about 6 minutes for each batch and drain onto a paper towel-lined plate.
  Take off thread, sprinkle with lime juice and more salt, only if required.
• Serve hot with steamed rice and sambar/rasam or have as a snack.

Tips
Use fresh, tender baby karela.
Avoid larger, less tender karela.
Instead of brown sugar, you may consider adding jaggery or to the stuffing.
The dish takes about 20-25 minutes to make, not counting the soaking time.
This recipe first appeared in Rediff India Abroad in October 2013.