Bharwa Karela : Stuffed bitter-gourd

I use to hate ‘karela’ /bitter gourd untill one day i had bharwa karela made by a colleague . I started troubling her for the recipe and she was sweet enough to share it with me. I tried the recipe out and the dish turned out to be tasty but  something was missing, i went back to her and she said what i had missed out, I tried it again the same evening and  it turned out good, so here i share this with you all..i have slightly modified the recipe.

Ingredients :

• bitter gourd (small, i used big once, hence cut them into pieces) 400 gms
• onion – 1 finely chopped
• oil —4 tbsp
• asafoetida (hing) - 1 pinch
• cumin powder— 1/2 tsp
• turmeric powder— 1/2 tsp
• coriander powder — 2 tsp
• fennel powder— 2 tsp
• amchur powder )— 1 tsp(you can add a lemon juice if you don’t have amchur)
• Chilli powder — 1/2  tsp ( i like it more spicy so i added 1 tsp)
• salt — 1 tsp (as per taste)

Method:

Pre-preparation :

• Wash the bittergourds well and scrape the exterior with knife, add 1/2 tsp salt to the scrapings and leave it for fifteen minutes, wash them well with water 2-3 times and keep aside to be used in the filling.
• Slit the bittergourd on one side, such they open up, scoop the inner contents ( the seeds and flesh/pulp) and keep aside to be used in the filling…( i slit them open completely and then tied the corresponding halves later)
• Apply 1 tsp salt to the bittergourds a little turmeric to the slit gourds both in inside and outside and leave them aside for 1/2 an hour
  

  
  

  Bittergourds slit and marinated in salt and turmeric

Filling :

• Heat 1tbsp oil in pan (kadai)
• Add asafoetida, finely chopped onions and fry till translucent and then add all dry ingredients and stir with a laddle 2-3times well and fry

  

• Add the well washed bittergourd outer scrapings and the inner pulp, stir and fry for 6-7
   mins, till the masala is done
• Wash the bittergourds well and pat dry and stuff them with the filling equally and tie them up with thread so that the filling doesn’t spill out.
   
  

  

  Stuffed and tied up gourds

Frying:

• In a pan heat 3 tbsp oil and arrange the bharwa karele ( stuffed bittergourds) in pan and shallow fry and close the lid over them.
• After 5 times when one side is done turn them to with help of a tong so that the undone side goes down and cover the lid again and allow to cook for 6-7 mins
• Once the bittergourds turn brown and done …you can serve them with roti .

Tips:

• You can also half boil the bittergourds in 250 gms of curds so that they cook faster.
• if you want little sweet taste you can add 2 tsp of jaggery to the filling when its cooking.