Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Kakarakaya Ullipaya Karam | Stuffed Bittergourd with Spicy Onion mixture

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I have mentioned many times in my earlier posts that bitter gourd is a favorite vegetable at my place.Though I like it only in few forms,the rest of the family likes it in any form.My most preferred choice with bitter gourd would be either Bittergourd podi or any stuffed Bittergourd, check out one version of stuffed bittergourd recipe here. It is fun to eat stuffed bitter gourds with rice,either you need to slightly mash the stuffed bitter gourds into the rice like a typical south Indian or take a bite of stuffed bitter gourd with a spoonful of plain rice.You can check out my similar recipe of Vankaya Ullipaya Karam here.
The version I am posting today is again one of my favorite preparations of bitter gourd which I learnt from my M-I-L.For the stuffing,the onions are ground with few spices to a very coarse bits and is fried in oil which is later stuffed into the fried bitter gourds.One can even deep fry the bitter gourds to reduce the bitterness in it,I don't dare to deep fry on a regular basis and hence took an easy route of boiling and sauteing it which reduces the bitterness by at least 70-80% which is manageable to eat.The sweet and spicy onion mixture takes this stuffed bitter gourd to another level as the mixture complements the slight hint of tangy and bitter taste from bittergourds(the tanginess you get from boiling the bittergourds in tamarind water).If you have a family member who loves bitter gourd,please prepare this for them and I am sure they would absolutely love it.Even if you are skeptical about eating bitter gourd start with this recipe and you will definitely start liking bitter gourd.
Kakarakaya Ullipaya Karam Recipe:
(Serves 2-3)

Ingredients:
4-5 long Bittergourds
3 large Onions,diced roughly
1/2 tsp thick Tamarind extract
1 tsp Red chili powder
a sprig of Curry leaves
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
Salt to taste
3-4 tbsp Oil

to boil Bittergourds:
1 tbsp Tamarind pulp
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp grated Jaggery
Salt to taste

Method:
  • Wash and cut bitter gourds into 2 " length pieces and make a slit on one side lengthwise and remove the tough seeds using a knife.
  • In a big pot bring water to a boil with added tbsp tamarind pulp,turmeric powder,salt and grated jaggery.Add cut bitter gourds and boil for 4-5 minutes until they are tender and firm to touch.Drain them and let them cool aside.This process helps in removing the bitterness from bitter gourd leaving a slight tangy taste to the bittergourd skin.
  • Pulse diced onions with salt,tamarind extract and red chili powder in a whipper mode for 5 seconds a couple of times.The resultant mixture should be very chunky with onion bits here and there.This is an important step,so plase don't mess up here..we want a chunky mixture not the paste.
  • Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadai and crackle mustard seeds and add curry leaves and fry for 30 seconds.Add the pulsed onion mixture and fry well until the mixture is completely dry and cooked,it takes approximately 8-10 mins.Fry the mixture on medium flame and stir it in between and take care not to burn the mixture.Cool the mixture.
  • Meanwhile in another wide and deep bottomed kadai heat 1 tbsp oil and add cooked and drained bitter gourds and fry for a couple of minutes.Cover it with a deep plate and pour half cup of water over it and cook the bitter gourds over medium flame for 7-8 minutes until they are cooked.Cool them.You can alternatively deep fry the bitter gourds for 2-3 minutes but I don't prefer this process for the amount of oil it consumes.It is left to your choice.
  • Stuff the fried onion mixture in the fried bitter gourds and keep them aside.
  • Heat 1 tbsp oil in the same kadai(in which bitter gourds are fried) and place the bitter gourds carefully and fry over medium - high flame for 3-4 mins until the edges turn crisp and charred.
Serve them hot with hot steamed rice.
Notes:
  1. The key taste in this stuffed bitter gourd curry is the fried onion mixture,so stuff as much onion mixture as you can.
  2. The amount of oil is completely left to your choice as the addition of more makes the entire process fast,easy and tasty.I hardly used 1-2 tbsp oil in the entire process.You can see that my bitter gourds are bit more charred as I had used very little oil and cooked them for very long.Hence the more the oil,the easier and faster the process.
  3. You can use the same stuffing for Tendli(dondakaya) and shallow fry it.It is again my personal favorite.
  4. For a variation add 2-3 garlic pods while grinding the mixture,it gives a nice taste too.

32 comments:

Savi-Ruchi said...

Love stuffed vegetables! however my family doesn't entertain bitter gourd :( Will try this stuffing with bhindi as I have them at my pantry now. A very new kind of stuffing with onions.

Sudha Sabarish said...

Interesting recipe,though i don't like bitter gourd i feel like grabbing from the screen.

Unknown said...

Love bitter gourd in any form but especially the stuffed ones. I can imagine the combination of bitter-sweet taste, yum!

Tina said...

Its new to me...Sounds yummy.

Anonymous said...

Never thought bittergourd dish could look so tempting! What a lovely and innovative recipe! I will definitely give it a try! Thanks!

Akila said...

Wow picture perfect.... I love bitter gourd.... Will try this version soon....

Kaveri Venkatesh said...

Looks awesome...very very tempting..bittergourds are my favorite too

Gayathri NG said...

Delicious stuffing bittergourd...

Indian Khana said...

Very interesting stuffing ...shall try sometime ...I love stuffed bittergourd too and love pics ...

Suparna said...

hi prathy,
new recipes with bittergourd are always welcome....this one looks tasty...would like to surely try this one.

dassana said...

lovely pics. i just love bittergourd and usually make the north indian style of stuffed bittergourds.

Jeyashris Kitchen said...

Never tried bitter gourd in this way. yummy recipe

lubnakarim06 said...

One of my aunt use to make this.....ans she always makes tomato rasam to go with it...i don't know why...but i still love that combo....never tried making at home....would try this recipe....

Laavanya said...

The stuffing sounds delicious.. can't wait to try this and i shd also try the variation with tindora

Suja Manoj said...

That's a wonderful dish,looks so delicious,love the stuffing..

Faseela said...

interesting recipe..........sounds yummy

Unknown said...

very tempting prepraration and the photos are fab!

Swathi said...

Delicious stuffed bittergourd. I love bittergourd, this version is awesome.

R said...

looks extremely appetizing!

Priya Suresh said...

Very tempting and interestiing filling, simply love stuffed bittergourds..

Sumi said...

have heard about this curry, but never tried one.Looks delicious.

Sensible Vegetarian said...

Looks so good and the pictures oh my god, no one will hate bitter gourd if they see the clicks.

Prema said...

wow love the recipe,very nice...Pics are classic prathy:)

Shanthi Krishnakumar said...

Super yum and makes me drool

Rumana Rawat said...

Looks awesome.. superb click too:)

Deeps @ Naughty Curry said...

it is quite the opposite in my house, i love bittergourd but everyone else cant stand it! :D gonna try this one out, looks lovely

chitraj.hegde said...

wow......this is looking fantastic,,,and i never tried this kind of recipe by using bitter gourd..looking rally yummy..


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notyet100 said...

New recipe for me ,looks yum,,

radha said...

I like this vegetable. And will try this stuffing some time

www.mahaslovelyhome.com said...

I am sure this tastes absolutely fab

Home Cooked Oriya Food said...

classy clicks... love the presentation!

Pavithra Elangovan said...

mmmmmm my fav one... I can eat this daily too..Hungry for steamed rice, dhal and stuffed bittergourd :)

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