Bharwan karela
Bharwan karela, from above
VegVeganPunjab

Bharwan karela

Bitter gourd stuffed with a tangy onion masala. For people who know bitter is a flavour, not a flaw.

60 minTime
2 gProtein each
mediumSpice
Taming the bitter gourd2 chapters · 1 min read

Make it your way

Grandma's waySalted, stuffed, slow fried. The Punjabi way.
The original
153kcalsame
2 gproteinsame
6 gfibresame
60minutessame

Classic bharwan karela.

Per serving, worked out from the ingredient table.

Ingredients

4 servings
Bitter gourd (bitter melon)6 medium
Salt2 tsp, plus to taste
Onion2 medium, finely chopped
Mustard oil3 tbsp
Fennel seeds1½ tsp, crushed
Turmeric (ground turmeric)¼ tsp
Red chilli powder (indian red chili powder)¾ tsp
Coriander powder (ground coriander)2 tsp
Dry mango powder1½ tsp
Jaggery2 tsp, grated
Garam masala½ tsp

Method

4 steps
  1. 1Scrape the rough skin lightly, slit each karela lengthwise and remove large seeds. Rub inside and out with salt and rest 30 minutes.
  2. 2Rinse and squeeze the karelas. Heat 1 tbsp oil, fry onion until golden, then add fennel, powders, amchur and jaggery and cook into a thick masala.
  3. 3Stuff each karela with the masala and tie with thread if needed.
  4. 4Heat the remaining oil, lay the karelas in a single layer, cover and cook on low, turning every few minutes until tender and dark all over.
Serve it like this

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

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Make it a meal

What goes with Bharwan karela: a bread or rice, a side, something to drink and something sweet.

Bread or rice Aloo paratha50 min
Bread or rice Gur wale chawal45 min
With a main Dal makhani100 min
With a main Kadai paneer35 min
To drink Sweet lassi10 min
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