Gujarat

Bharela karela

Name: Bharela karela
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Gujarati
Ingredients: 6 small bitter gourd (bitter melon); 4 tbsp dry roasted besan (chickpea flour, gram flour); 2 tsp coriander powder (ground coriander); 1 tsp cumin powder (ground cumin); 1 tsp crushed fennel seeds; 1 1/4 tsp red chilli powder (indian red chili powder); 1/2 tsp turmeric (ground turmeric); 1 1/2 tsp dry mango powder; 1 1/2 tbsp grated jaggery; 3 tbsp cooking oil (vegetable oil); 1/2 tsp mustard seeds; a pinch asafoetida; Salt, to taste, plus more for rubbing

Bitter gourd stuffed with sweet, tangy besan masala. Even the sceptics take seconds.

45 minTime

4 gProtein each

mediumSpice

Taming the bitter one1 chapter · 1 min read

Make it your way

Grandma's wayThe Gujarati way, sweet stuffing and all.

The original

187kcalsame

4 gproteinsame

6 gfibresame

45minutessame

Per serving, worked out from the ingredient table.

Ingredients

Bitter gourd (bitter melon)6 small

Besan (chickpea flour, gram flour)4 tbsp, dry roasted

Coriander powder (ground coriander)2 tsp

Cumin powder (ground cumin)1 tsp

Fennel seeds1 tsp, crushed

Red chilli powder (indian red chili powder)1¼ tsp

Turmeric (ground turmeric)½ tsp

Dry mango powder1½ tsp

Jaggery1½ tbsp, grated

Cooking oil (vegetable oil)3 tbsp

Mustard seeds½ tsp

Asafoetidaa pinch

Saltto taste, plus more for rubbing

Method

4 steps

1Scrape the rough skin lightly, slit each karela lengthwise and scoop out hard seeds. Rub with salt and rest 20 minutes, then squeeze and rinse.
2Mix roasted besan, spice powders, fennel, amchur, jaggery, salt and 1 tbsp oil.
3Stuff each karela and tie with thread if needed.
4Heat the rest of the oil, add mustard and asafoetida, lay the karela in and cover. Cook on low 20 to 25 minutes, turning often.

Serve it like this

Serve hot on a plate, with a few fresh coriander leaves on top.

Bloom picks tonight's dinner for your diet and allergies, then cooks it with you step by step.

Bharela karela

Make it your way

Ingredients

Method

Make it a meal