Healthy Bharwa Karela Recipe - Stuffed Bitter Gourd
Healthy Bharwa Karela, a delicious Bitter Gourd side dish that you can make for your everyday meals. Raw mango is used for the stuffing which gives it a tangy taste. Serve it along with Palak Dal, Phulka and Boondi Raita for an everyday meal.
Healthy Bharwa Karela is an Indian Masala Stuffed Bitter Gourd which is a combination of taste with health since it uses lesser oil than the conventional Bharwa Karela which is usually deep fried. This recipe is shallow fried with yummy stuffing inside. With no added jaggery, I must mention it is healthy for diet conscious and diabetic folks too.
Serve Bharwa Karela along with Palak Dal, Phulka and Boondi Raita for an everyday meal.
If you like this recipe, here are more Bitter Gourd Recipes that you can make for your everyday meals:
Notes:
- You can add a teaspoon of ghee to the stuffing for added taste.
- After filling the bitter gourd with the masala, you can tie the bitter gourd with thread and deep fry them in oil.
- If raw mango is not available you can add 1 teaspoon lemon juice to the filling
30 M
50 M
80 M
4 Servings
Ingredients
- 8 Karela (Bitter Gourd/ Pavakkai)
- Oil , coconut oil or mustard oil as required (maximum 3 tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garam masala powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Amchur (Dry Mango Powder)
- Salt , to taste Ingredients to be Ground Raw for Ground Masala
- 1 Onion , (red or white)
- 1 Tomato
- 1/4 cup Mango (Raw) , chopped
- 1 Green Chilli
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 1 inch Ginger , peeled
- 1/2 inch Fresh turmeric root , or 1 teaspoon turmeric powder Ingredients for Dry Masala (to be lightly dry roasted and ground)
- 10 Raw Peanuts (Moongphali)
- 2 teaspoons Coriander (Dhania) Seeds
- 2 Dry Red Chillies
- Tamarind , marble sized
- 1/2 cup Fresh coconut , grated
How to make Healthy Bharwa Karela Recipe - Stuffed Bitter Gourd
To begin making Healthy Bharwa Karela Recipe (Indian Masala Stuffed Bitter Gourd), scrape the outer skin of the bitter gourds and make a deep vertical cut in the center leaving the base portion intact. Gently scoop out the seeds and the pith and set it aside.
Rub the bitter gourds with salt, inside out.
Mix about 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the pith and seeds and allow it to rest for at least half an hour. Squeeze excess water and wash and drain them. Pat the bitter gourds with a kitchen towel.
In the meantime, grind all the ingredients given under 'Ground Masala' in a mixer grinder including onion, tomato, raw mango, green chilli, garlic, ginger and fresh turmeric root.
Heat a pan and gently roast the ingredients given under the 'dry masala' except coconut including raw peanuts, coriander seeds, dry red chillies and tamarind.
Once it is done, grind them coarsely with coconut. Keep it aside.
Heat a pan/ kadai over a low flame with a little oil. When the oil heats up add the ground tomato onion masala and the pith of karela.
Mix dry (roasted) masala, kashmiri red chili powder, amchur powder and garam masala. Add salt as required. Adjust spices.
Allow it to cook for 8-10 minutes or till the time the excess water is absorbed and looks cooked, switch off.
Spoon the masala into each processed bitter gourd/Karela.
Heat a wide pan with 1-2 tablespoons of oil.
Gently place the stuffed bitter gourds in the pan and shallow fry them till all the sides are uniformly browned. You can keep the lid closed often to have them cooked evenly.
Delicious Healthy Bharwa Karela (Indian Masala Stuffed Bitter Gourd) is now all set to be served. Serve Bharwa Karela along with Palak Dal, Phulka and Boondi Raita for an everyday meal.
