Karela Masala Fry: Bitter Gourd Side Dish

In this karela masala fry recipe, spice-coated bitter gourd slices are pan-fried on low heat leisurely till they crisp up and lose all but a hint of their native bitterness. Serve karela masala fry to folks who shun bitter gourd – watch them be pleasantly surprised at how mellow this dreaded vegetable can be!

To make this recipe, keep a batch of sookhi sabzi masala handy. We will use a generous helping of it to form the masala of the dish.

You Need:

• Bitter gourd – 250 grams
• Sookhi sabzi masala – 1 tablespoon (adjust to taste)
• Turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt – 1/2 teaspoon
• Oil – 1 tablespoon

How To Make Karela Masala Fry:

1. Prep the bitter gourd

Reduce the bitterness of bitter gourd: scrape and slice the bitter gourd. Mix bitter gourd slices with will half a teaspoon each of salt and turmeric powder.

Keep aside for 30 minutes.

Bitter gourd slices will give off water in this time. Squeeze out the water.

Let the bitter gourd slices stand for another 15 minutes. Give them another squeeze.

Bitter gourd is now ready to be cooked.

2. Cook

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a thick-bottomed pan. Tilt the pan around so that the oil coats the base of the pan evenly. When the oil is hot, add to it the bitter gourd slices.

Mix and cover with a lid.

Let the bitter gourd slices cook on medium flame for five minutes, covered and undisturbed.

Now uncover, sprinkle a tablespoon of sookhi sabzi masala.

Stir around to mix. Cover again, set the heat to low and cook for another fifteen minutes, stirring every few minutes. Scrape the bottom of the pan gently to ensure the masala does not burn.

At this stage (~20mins of total cooking time), the bitter gourd would have been nearly done.

Continue to cook uncovered till the bitter gourd slices have cooked through and crisped up.

Karela masala fry is now ready to eat.

Serve alongside rice and dal, or stack it in the lunchbox for a no-spill side.

Meal below (anti-clockwise from left): rice, karela masala fry, ridge gourd toor dal, carrot sauteed in butter.

Notes:

Try other bitter gourd recipes: karela pyaz, or a combo of karela with potatoes and onions.

You can do a lot more with sookhi sabzi masala: check out the “How To Use…” ideas given here: Sookhi Sabzi Masala, South-Style.