Though i am not that good cooking kakarakaya( bitter gourd aka karela) i do it for its nutritional benefits. This time when i started i thought kakarkaya vepudu would turn out to be a big flop., but to my surprise the end product was so yummy yummy. I would like to use kakarakaya very often from now. For now i will post the pictures and i will post the recipe soon.


Ingredients:

  • 2 medium sized bitter gourds(kakarakaya ./ karelas)
  • 2 big onions
  • salt
  • sugar
  • 1/2 tbsp turmeric powder
  • red chilli powder
  • 1/4 - 1/2 cup oil
  • 1/2 cup yogurt

For Tempuring(Tadka) optional:
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 10 curry leaves
  • 1 tbsp chana dal
Procedure:
  • Clean the bitter gourds(kakarakaya) and drain them
  • Peel off the skin( run the peeler just once ). This is optional step
  • Chop bitter gourd very very finely( the finer you chop the quicker it cooks )
  • Add turmeric, salt and yogurt. Let it marinate for 1 hour( or more optional )
  • Squeeze the chopped pieces and drain them on kitchen towel or paper towels( doing this will remove the bitterness by half )
  • Heat kadai( or wok ) with oil and add the cumin seeeds, mustard seeds, chana dal and when they start to pop add the curry leaves.
  • Add the chopped kakarakaya ( bitter gourd ) pieces and fry stirring occassionally.
  • When they are little brown add the finely chopped onions and fry for 3-5 min until done
  • Add sugar , salt and red chilli powder
  • Cook for 2 more min until done.
  • The end product should be very crispy.


No one would know that this is kakarakaya fry unless you tell them. Serve this with hot rice. I know my mom cooks stuffed karelas, would like to try that recipe soon. Kakarakaya is so good for people with diabetes, please do omit sugar in that case.

Tags:bitter gourd fry, bittergourd curry, kakarakaya fry, kakarakaya vepudu, karela fry

3 COMMENTS:

Anonymous said...

Hi,
By soaking in salted yogurt and then squeezing the karela pieces, doesn't the nutritional value of the vegetable be reduced? I am under the impression that much of the good stuff from karela goes off into the discarded yogurt. Is there a way to incorporate the yogurt back into the recipe.
Thanks

KALVA said...

if you dont mind the bitterness go ahead and fry the bittergourd pieces directly without soaking in yogurt.. This way you wont lose the nutrients.. I never added the yogurt back though!!

Anonymous said...

It is very interesting for me to read this post. Thanx for it. I like such themes and everything connected to them. I would like to read a bit more soon.

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