Friday, July 17, 2009

Stuffed Karela(Bitter gourd) - Type1


Bitter gourd is a common medicinal food for diabetics.Very few people like this vegetable and my hubby is one among them.He is a very big fan of karela and so it is prepared atleast once a week at our place.He likes to eat it even with roti or even as a snack.I prepare so many stuffed variety recipes with bitter gourd and I have learnt this version from my mom and it is always liked by everyone.Even though you are not a karela lover,I am sure you will definitely like this version of karela as the bitterness of karela is reduced by prior cooking process.

Ingredients:

5-6 Bitter gourds(long or short)

1/4 cup thin tamarind pulp
1 tbsp jaggery

1/2 tsp haldi
(turmeric)
1 tsp salt

3-4 tbsp oil


for stuffing:

2 tbsp Chana dal
1 tbsp urad dal

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp pepper corns

2 tbsp besan(chickpea flour)
3-4 Laung

1/2" cinnamon

5-6 red chillies
2 pods of garlic
salt



Method:
  • Wash and cut off corners and cut Bitter gourds into half (2" pieces) and scoop out the seeds from it.
  • Boil water with tamarind pulp,salt,haldi and jaggery in a deep vessel and add bitter gourds to it and boil until soft,75% done.This process reduces the bitterness of the bitter gourds.
  • Remove the bitter gourds from the mixture and run cold water over them and keep aside.
  • In a pan heat a spoon of oil add chana dal,urad dal,coriander seeds,cumin seeds,pepper corns,Laung,cinnamon,red chillies until light golden brown in color.Cool it and grind it to a coarse powder by adding salt to it.Add garlic pods to it and grind again once.
  • Dry roast besan and mix with the ground masala.Add a spoon of oil to the mixture just to make it wet which helps in easily stuffing the bitter gourds.
  • Stuff the mixture in the bitter gourds tightly with the stuffing mixture.
  • Heat a pan and add 2-3 tsp of oil and when the oil is hot place the bitter gourds carefully and fry it on medium flame for 8-10 mins until it is crispy and browned evenly.(you can even deep fry those stuffed bitter gourds in the oil to get better taste,but I prefer shallow fry method in order to cut the extra calories).
  • Cut into rounds like I have shown or serve it as it is.
Serve it with hot rice and ghee.

49 comments:

  1. Hi Prathibha!
    Even my husband loves the bittergourd. I have some bittergourd , let me experiment with your version this time , will let you know how it turned out.

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  2. lovely presentation dear....nice recipe

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  3. well new dish for me prathiba..never tried sfuffing in karela...will def try it ...

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  4. I remember my mother making this but never had courage to try it..looks good in the pic

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  5. nice clicks! stuffed karela sounds good... you have a nice space!

    Lissie

    http://saltandspice.org/

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  6. looks so yum! The presentation is also amazing...

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  7. I love this,but i don't know how to do this,my mom sister used to do this and when ever i visit her make sure that she does this to me,loved the presentation :)

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  8. New to me. Looks so yummy and tempting.

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  9. Bittergourd is my fav veg..and this is new to me..nicely presented...

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  10. Bittergourd is my fav veggie..stuffing looks truly admirable and the picture makes me drool!!

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  11. I love bittergourd, this one looks so yumm

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  12. MMMMMMM thats my favourite veggie in my list...Nicely presented ..its really tempting and mouthwatering prathy...

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  13. Adding laung and cinnamon is really new to me other things are somewhat same surely this is my next try with karela.

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  14. I heartily dislike this vegetable :)...but sincerely love your recipe...
    the addition of jaggery and tamarind is sure to make it yummier, bringing down the bitterness :)

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  15. Looks so delicious! My husband is a big fan of bittergourd. I would love to try this out !

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  16. i never had this veggie in my whole life i think but same as yours my husband love it..i usually prepare for him only will try your recipe whenever i am preparing next time..

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  17. love the decor..i always get mixed between Pratibha and Pavithra..both of u guys are amazing in food decor..a niche product to market..huge potential guys!!

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  18. I like my bitter gourd fried.. this looks yum.. will try it..

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  19. Not my fav veggie this. But this sure looks good! :)

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  20. Nice presentation Pratibha!
    Though I not fond of karela, this stuffed karela looks yummy!

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  21. Lovely presentaion ..Nice recipe ..Thanks for sharing

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  22. Interesting recipe. We r huge fans of karela,will try this soon.Looks yummy and luved the click:).

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  23. Nice presentation dear...it must have tasted great with rice :)

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  24. I am not a fan of karelas..but ur pic is making me drool big time

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  25. I like karelas, I've not made it this way so far :) the presentation is beautiful, the recipe seems really tempting to make . I've bookmarked it.
    TC

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  26. After seeing your photo, i don't see any reason for any body not becoming a fan of Karela. Looks delicious and a very beautiful presentation.

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  27. i'll take fried bittergourd any time! and if its stuffed, even better! this looks mouthwatering.

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  28. Recipe sure will suppress the bitterness,but i will never buy or cook bitter gourd in my life!!

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  29. Looks very interesting...I've never made it this way!

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  30. looks soo good .. i make only gojju with this .. never made stuffed karela

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  31. lovely version. I usually stuff while karelas, and then its messy as you use a thread to tie it so that it does not open up etc! This is so much better!

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  32. Oh wow...that's an flavourful recipe...bitter gourd being my fav....iam ready to indulge....

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  33. My husband also loves Karela ..will try ur stuffed karela recipe next time I make it..

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  34. Never tried this version of stuffin...looking yum..shall try...you can check in my blog diff kind of stuffing

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  35. Our fav veggie.Looks so delicious.

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  36. It looks so yummy and tempting..I am drooling all over here:((We make a similar version however, we dont make it into circles..Actually this looks more beautiful:)

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  37. Stuffed bitter gourd is what I ve never tried making. Till now afraid of its bitterness. But ur recipe tempts me a lot:)

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  38. good recipe for bitterguard.I can eat it in any form.I miss this vegetable over here

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  39. Excellent recipe as usual... !

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  40. Stuffed karela looks appetising..:).There are a few dishes I like with karela and this one's among it..but pity I haven't tried making it on my own.I like the first pic of karela resting peacefully on the mound of rice..excellent:)

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  41. Delicious ! I love the stuffing,I make I eat karela at least once every week :D

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  42. nice presentation and a different recipe I use to stuff bitter gourd with potato this stuffing is new to me interesting will try this for sure.

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  43. Karela is one of my fav veggie. I like the idea of stuffing it. Good one

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  44. Thanks Prathiba for your nice comment. You have such a lovely space out here.I happen to have some karelas now in my fridge. So will stuff them this way tomorrow itself.

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  45. I've not made stuffed pavakai so far even though I love pavakkai... very pretty presentation as usual :)

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  46. nice recipe...soo different than what I make....I like ur idea of boiling gourds with jaggery, tamarind. Looks like u didn't scrape the skin? is it....

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  47. I dont eat bittergourd, but I made it for my hubby and he liked it a lot..thanks for the recipe

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Hugs,
Prathy