Bharwa Karela – Recipe for Stuffed Bitter Gourd – 31 Oct 15

Wash the karela well and peel the outer surface off with a knife. Put them all on a plate and now sprinkle a hand full of salt over the karela. Mix all karela well into the salt and leave it like this for approximately three hours.

In the meantime, you can wash the potatoes and then boil them in a pot of water. Once they are soft, which you can check by sticking a vegetable knife into the thickest which should go in and out easily, pour out the hot water. Rinse them quickly with cold water and let them cool down. When you can take them in the hand easily, you can peel them. Put them all into a bowl and mash them thoroughly.

When three hours are over, take one karela and make a deep cut along one side of it. Use the same knife for scratching out the seeds of the karela.

Now we need to steam the karela to make them a bit softer. For this, we take a pot and a metal sieve which fits into it. We fill some water in the pot and bring it to a boil, letting the karela in the sieve get cooked by the steam.

Heat up the oil in a deep pan. When it is hot, turn the heat low and add the cumin seeds, the garam masala, coriander, turmeric and the ginger powder into the pan. Stir so that the spices don’t burn. Let them roast on low heat and when they are changing their colour, add the mashed potatoes into the pan as well. Stir and roast everything together a little bit. Add salt according to taste and finally the mango powder as well. You can add a bit more if you like the slightly sour taste that it gives. Once that is mixed, take the mixture off the fire.

Let it cool down a bit and then take the karela with their cuts. Fill your potato mixture into the cuts and place the karela on an oven tray. With a brush, spread a bit oil onto each karela before placing the tray into the oven. Let them bake on 180 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

When the potato surface is dry and golden, your karela is ready!

Enjoy!