Bharwan Karela - Stuffed bittergourd

Bitter - is one of the five basic tastes , the other four being sour, salty, sweet and savory. We love karela or bitter gourd, but the time it takes to prepare it is the main reason for us not having it as often as we would like to. When LG of Tasteofmysore announced SWC-Meals on wheels I knew I had to take out the time and make these . I still have memories of train travels which would last for a couple of days and we would eat the stuffed karela packed by my grandmothers . These do not get spoilt for 3-4 days and thus are perfect as food for travels.

I made these after a long time yesterday and here goes the recipe for them -

Ingredients -

Karela / bitter gourd - 6-7 medium sized ones

Onion - 2 sliced

Nigella seeds / kalaunji - 1 tsp
Fennel seeds / saunf - 1 tsp
Fenugreek /methi - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1.5 tsp
Dry mango / Amchur powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder/ haldi - 0.5 tsp
Red chili powder/ laal mirch - 0.5 tsp
Salt to taste
2 tbsp mustard oil
2 tbsp tamarind/ imli pulp (soak imli in half a bowl of water and use the residue )

Thread - as much as required

Peel the bitter gourd with a light hand , slit them vertically and take out all the seeds to create a pocket. Rub lots of salt and keep aside for at least 4-5 hours . Apply salt to the outer peel also and keep aside.

After 4-5 hours squeeze out all the fluid from the bitter gourd and the peels and wash with water.

In a pan heat about 1 tbsp of mustard oil, add the nigella seeds and fennel seeds. Heat till they become aromatic, then add the sliced onions . Saute till the onions become translucent. Then add the squeezed out bitter gourd peel and saute for a minute. Then add all the other spices. Saute for 2-3 minutes then add the tamarind pulp with some water . Saute the mixture till oil starts separating from it.

Now with the help of a spoon, stuff this prepared filling into the bitter gourd. Once well stuffed wrap a thread around the bitter gourd to ensure that the filling does not come out. Once all the bitter gourds are filled and wrapped , shallow fry them till well cooked.

Serve with roti/parantha /rice :)

This is my entry for SWC-Meals on wheels and I hope LG accepts it.