I used to dread bitter gourd when I was a kid. Every time this dish was on the table, I would make all kinds of excuses to avoid the meal! But kids are picky eaters, right? No surprises there. Fast forward to the present, I can’t have enough of this vegetable. Unfortunately, you cannot find this in regular groceries in the US. Indian groceries do stock them, but not as often as I would like.
Karela
Undoubtedly a very popular vegetable in India, bitter gourd is called ‘Karela’ in Hindi. There are so many amazing karela recipes in Indian cuisine! If you cook it right, it is a great tasting vegetable. Interestingly, though it belongs to the same family as watermelon, it neither looks nor tastes like one! Most folks who haven’t had the opportunity to try this vegetable are missing out on some great nutritional benefits, especially in managing blood sugar levels and diabetes. If you’re diabetic (or pre diabetic) you must get this vegetable in your diet as often as possible.
Bitter Gourd (Karela)
Sautéed Bitter Gourd
Because this gourd is bitter, it is important to prep it, to tone down the level of bitterness. I remove the seeds, cut the gourd to fine pieces, mix it thoroughly with salt and tamarind paste, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. This helps take the bitter edge off and adds a unique flavor to the dish. Salt can generate water from the vegetable, so be sure to drain it before cooking. Since bitter gourd takes a longer time to cook, I add onions about midway, so they don’t get burnt.
Removing Seeds From Bitter Gourd
Air Fried Bitter Gourd Rings?!
Here I go again with my air fryer. Ever since we bought the Ninja Air Fryer, my wife says I’m like a 5-year-old with a shiny new toy! I cannot dispute that-I can’t stop trying out all the different ideas popping up in my head. So, this time, as I was making my favorite bitter gourd dish, I set one gourd aside for my experiment. I sliced it into rings, discarded the seeds, sprinkled some salt, turmeric powder, cayenne pepper, coriander powder, avocado oil and mixed well. I set it aside for 15 minutes and air fried for 11 minutes at 375F. It turned out awesome! I’m doing this again!
Air Fried Bitter Gourd Rings
Bitter melon has been the focus of well over 100 clinical and observational studies. It’s best known for its hypoglycemic effects (the ability to lower blood sugar), and research shows that the melon’s juice, fruit and dried powder can all be used to mimic insulin’s effects and treat diabetes.
Try our other interesting bitter gourd recipes:
Don’t forget to check out our other delicious sautéed veggie recipes:
- Carrot, Green Bean, Coconut Sauté
- Cluster Beans-Coconut-Ginger Sauté
- Broad Bean Eggplant Sauté
- Sautéed Asparagus
- Fresh Fenugreek Eggplant Sauté
- Snake Gourd Coconut Sauté
- Spicy Cilantro Ginger Eggplant Sauté
- Spine Gourd Sauté
- Sautéed Okra
- Easy Sautéed Tindora
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Sautéed Bitter Gourd (Karela)
Ingredients
- 1 Pound Bitter Gourd - Fine cut
- 1/2 Cup Onion - Fine cut
- 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt - (or to taste)
- 1 Teaspoon Tamarind - Paste or juiced
- 1 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds - (for seasoning)
- 1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 3/4 Teaspoon Red Chili Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil
Instructions
- Slit each bitter gourd into 4 pieces lengthwise and strip out the seeds in the middle. Cut the remaining part of the vegetable into fine pieces and set aside.
- Add tamarind and salt, mix thoroughly and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Set aside, onion (cut to fine pieces), red chili powder, turmeric, and mustard seeds.
- Add oil to a thick bottom pan and set flame to medium heat. When oil is hot, but not smoking, splutter mustard seeds. Add bitter gourd pieces and turmeric. Mix well and cook with lid on for about 10 minutes, mixing contents of the pan every few minutes.
- Add onions, mix well and cook with lid on for about 5 more minutes. Remove lid, add red chili powder and cook for 7 to 8 minutes- at this stage you can add coriander powder if you like some extra flavor (optional). Vegetable should be tender by not mush at this point.
- Transfer to serving bowl and serve hot.
Is the tamarind the secret to take the bitterness off? Because each time I have done it, the bitterness prevents me from wanting to do it again. I had noticed that in Kerala the fry bitter gourd to a crisp – but this probably destroys all the goodness. Can’t wait to try it with the tamarind.
Shaj, I think the human palate has an affinity for sweet and sour, and avoidance for bitter tastes. As Hunter-Gatherers, this probably made sense, because it kept us away from picking/eating toxic herbs and berries. However Ayurveda, advocates eating some amount of bitter foods to balance Doshas. Bitter tasting foods include bitter gourd, several leafy greens like arugula, turmeric, fenugreek seeds and Japanese eggplant. I have trained my taste buds to appreciate some of the bitterness in this gourd, but it does take some getting used to (and some of us may never get there!). In the meantime, do try marinating it in tamarind, or like Shailaja recommends, sour yogurt. Do leave a comment when you have tried it out. In Karnataka, we use jaggery to counter the bitterness.
marinating the bitter gourd with sour yoghurt also helps reducing the bitterness and in fact gives a rich taste & texture to the curry..Do try stuffed bitter gourd too..another yummy recipe!
Sheelu, do share the stuffed bitter gourd recipe, so I can make it and post it on this blog. Thanks for the suggestion to use sour yogurt. It is a great option for non-vegans.