Karela (Bitter Gourd) Image by: Rio Lecatompessy on Unsplash
Bitter Gourd or as we call it Karela is a food that serves as a medicine too and name comes from the bitter taste it has. That doesn’t imply that its not edible. It surely is and makes a great food. Specially the diabetic people are able to control their blood glucose by appropriately including Karela juice or food in their diet.Its a rich source of iron, magnesium, potassium, Vitamin C, B-6, A, calcium and Fibre. A low calorie high fibre food which can be made in simplest possible way.
As a kid, I used to scare away from it but trust me upon this, my mother-in-law shared a quick and tasty recipe of it that now I can have it in my lunch daily, specially in summers. At my home, it used to be deep–fried. But I learnt it in a different way. Sharing with you this recipe makes me glad and I hope its passed to the generations to come.
Karela pyaz (Bitter Gourd Onion)
First and foremost, Onions are not a must in this recipe. My mother-in-law never preferred onions, so its my addition to her recipe. We take the raw Karela. Peel it and keep the peel separately as we would be using peel too. Chop Karela as you wish to. I have diced one Karela in roughly three small pieces. Apply little salt to them. Leave them for 2 hours. Wash them thoroughly under fresh water. Let water drain. In the meantime, you may burn the mustard oil. Mustard oil is the best oil for dry vegetables of summer. I prefer to make veggies in Iron Kadai. For two simple reasons: First, I get iron (nutrition) in my diet without an extra effort and secondly, vegetables taste awesome in iron kadai. I have deliberately avoided the use of Non-stick and other so called non-toxic brands in cookware. Then You may add the masalas and the chopped Karelas. Cook on simmer and once they are done add the peel. If onions are to be added, like I did, fry them before and add later. I eat it more as achar then subji.
Parantha, stuffed or plain taste wonderful with this super food. Which one you like? Do share your experience with me.
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Peel Karele and keep its peel separate. Chop Karele and add namak to both peel and chopped Karele for around 2 hours. Wash them thoroughly under running water. Chop onions and wash them too.
Burn mustard oil. Once it cools off, fry onion.
Once onions are transparent and light brown, take them out in a bowl.
Separate the above mentioned masalas in a bowl.
Add theses masalas to the oil in which you had fried onions. Make sure that oil is not hot (just warm enough) else it will get burnt.
Add rest of the karelas and green chilii. Add salt and mix well. Cover with lid.
After its almost cooked, add the peel of Karela. Since it doesn't require much cooking, we have added it later. Cook for one-two min.
Add onions to the cooked Karela.
Now the Karelas are ready.
Serve it with Paranthas.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1 bowl
Servings: 5
Amount per serving
Calories
162
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 10.8g
14%
Saturated Fat 0.3g
2%
Cholesterol 0mg
0%
Sodium 1mg
0%
Total Carbohydrate 10.1g
4%
Dietary Fiber 0.5g
2%
Total Sugars 0.9g
Protein 6.2g
Vitamin D 0mcg
0%
Calcium 5mg
0%
Iron 0mg
0%
Potassium 32mg
1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice.
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