Bitter Gourd Stir-fry (Karela)

This Bitter Gourd Stir-fry is a no-fuss vegetarian/vegan dish with an explosion
of South Indian flavours of cumin seeds, curry leaves and sambhar powder. A
little jaggery combats the bitterness with the right kick of bitter taste!
Delicious, nutritious and a unique experience!!!

Servings: 2

Author:

Prep Time
15 minutes

Cook Time
15 minutes

Total Time
30 minutes

Course:

Side Dish Main Course

Cuisine:

Keywords:

Bitter Melon bitter gourd Kanchala Karathem Karela

Instructions

1 Prepare bitter gourd - Wash the bitter gourd well under cold running water. Pat
dry with kitchen towel. Trim off the edges and halve lengthwise. Scoop out seeds
and the fluffy white core and discard. Halve lengthwise again, chop into 1cm
pieces width - wise (Note 2). Set aside.
2 Temper/Season - Add oil into a medium size saucepan/non-stick frying pan (with a
lid) and place on medium heat. When the oil is beginning to shimmer, add cumin
seeds and sizzle, add curry leaves and splutter (move away for a minute as the
curry leaves will spit out oil). Add ginger, garlic and green chilli. Sauté for
1 minute.
3 Add the bitter gourd - Stir in the chopped bitter gourd and salt. Sauté for 2
minutes. Close lid and cook until bitter gourds are just cooked, stirring in
between to loosen the vegetables (approximately 1½ - 2 minutes). Reduce heat to
low.
4 Add the spring onions – Stir in the spring onions. Cover and simmer for 30
seconds. The bitter gourd will be cooked with the water released from the spring
onions. If not, add 2 tbsp. water and combine. If using a non-stick frying pan,
you may not need to add any water.
5 Add the spice powders - Stir in the sambhar powder and turmeric powder.
6 Add jaggery (if using) – Stir in the jaggery. Simmer for 1 minute or until
caramelised. Season to taste, if required. Remove from heat.
7 Garnish - (optional, I don’t, except for aesthetics) – It is not traditional to
garnish this dish. If you must, chop a tablespoon of coriander leaves/spring
onions and garnish.
8 Serve - Serve with hot steamed rice, chapati flat breads or Curd Rice
[https://deliciouslyindian.net/curd-rice-yogurt-rice/].

Bitter Gourd Stir-fry (Karela)

Course:

Cuisine:

Keywords:

🧂 Ingredients

Instructions

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