Published By: Rohit Chatterjee

Sabzi of the Day - Quick Bitter Gourd Recipes: Easy, Homemade, and Flavourful

Low in calories and rich in essential nutrients, bitter gourd is a staple in Indian household

Bitter gourd, also known as karela in India is not a vegetable liked by many. The reason is obvious i.e., it is quite bitter in taste and doesn’t suit everybody’s taste buds. Yet, it is a staple vegetable in Indian households, given it is low in calories and has rich nutritional values, which in turn has multiple health benefits. Therefore, in the following paragraphs, we have listed a number of tasty recipes for bitter gourd that one can enjoy despite the vegetable’s bitterness.

Karela chips

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • Round-sliced bitter gourd
  • Besan, or gram flour
  • Turmeric
  • Rice flour
  • Corn flour
  • Red chilli powder
  • Salt
  • Any cooking oil as per your liking

Credit – Instagram/ @ameerah.kitchen

Recipe

  • Slice the karela into rounds and wash it properly. Once done, add turmeric, red chilli, and salt to it. Give it a massage and let it rest for 2-3 minutes.
  • In a bowl, mix the gram flour, rice flour, and corn flour along with salt. Remember, you have already put salt on the karela, so taste and measure it, or else the chips will turn out too salty.
  • Add water to the mixture and turn it into a thick batter.
  • Dip the karela in the batter and coat them well.
  • Fry them in hot oil. When it comes to personal taste, we prefer mustard oil or coconut oil. However, as mentioned in the ingredient section, you can use any type of oil.
  • If the chips have turned crispy, take them out and enjoy them with the type of sauce or chutney.

Karela aloo

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • Bitter gourd
  • Chopped potato
  • Chopped onion  
  • PanchPhoron Masala
  • Mustard oil
  • Salt
  • Turmeric powder
  • Chilli powder
  • Green chilli sliced in the middle
  • Cumin powder

(Credit- Instagram/@thatindiancurry)

Recipe

  • Heat mustard oil in a pan.
  • Add panchphoron masala, onion, and chillies. Cook them till they get soft.
  • Then, add potato and bitter gourd and stir-fry them.
  • Once they are also cooked and soft, add turmeric powder, chilli powder, cumin powder, and salt. 
  • Balance the flavour and a simple karela aloo recipe is ready.

KorolaPyajPosto (Karela and Onion in Poppy Seed Paste)

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • Bitter gourd, finely chopped
  • Large onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 – 3 tbsp. poppy seed
  • Green chillies
  • Nigella seeds
  • 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
  • Salt
  • Mustard oil

Credit – Instagram/@gulp_n_gone

Recipe

  • Start by creating a thick paste of the poppy seed and keep it aside.
  • In a pan, heat mustard oil. Once done, add nigella seeds and green chillies.
  • After sautéing the seeds and chillies, add onion and allow it to get soft.
  • Once the onion is cooked, add the karela and stir-fry both the vegetables till they get cooked together.
  • Finally, add the poppy seed paste and give a good mix.
  • Once they can add water to their liking and get the consistency they wish for; it could be runny or semi-gravy, whichever is preferable.

Go ahead and feed these recipes to those who do not like karela. Our bet is that they will probably start liking karela and add it to their regular meals.