Karela or bittergourd…..the name invites almost similar reaction from majority of people and that is Eeeeeks…..it’s so bitter!But the good thing is that there are many many lovers of this bitter but therapeutic ,wonderful and tasty(yes it IS TASTY) karelas.Bittergourds ,not only stimulates digestion but also helps to some extent in regulating glucose levels in the body.That is why the juice of karela is consumed by many diabetic people  

Well…This recipe of Dhaas karela comes from Bina Makhija,whose recipes i love to try,coz they are appetizing, easy to follow and do not call for exotic ingredients .Thanks Bina for this wonderful recipe.Another recipe by bina, posted on this site is Mirani Khichdi

Her recipe is slightly different from what i regularly prepare,so i thought to give it a try and honestly speaking the results were really good.The two changes that i made in her recipe ,were….i used karelas without peeling them(they do taste more bitter ,but i like them that way) and i didn’t used hing (because i am always scared that hing will change the whole flavour of the dish )

Ingredients:

• Karela  (Bitter Gourd)  1/4 kg
• Onion Large          2 nos  
• Garlic                  4 cloves 
• Ginger                  1’’pc 
• Green Chillies       2-3
• Tomatoes pureed  2med
• Hing (Optional)      A pinch
• Chilli powder             1 tsp 
• Coriander powder       1 tbsp
• Turmeric powder          ½ tsp
• Cummin powder (Jeera pdr)1 tsp
• Garam Masala pdr           ½ tsp
• Salt                          To taste
• Oil and for frying      4 tbsp
• Coriander leaves      1 tbsp

Method:

• Peel the Karela’s(I preferred skin intact),slit them in midlle and salt them for about  30 minutes. 
•  Wash them and deep fry them till  slight golden(Do not brown them) and keep aside.
• Grate onions on the manual grater and strain the water completely through a strainer, do not squeeze let it drain on its own
• Make a paste of ginger, garlic and green chillies in pestle and  mortar and keep it aside.
• For stuffing take a deep bottom pan, put oil, when little hot add hing
• Now add grated onions and sauté till dry and slightly golden .You can add salt at this time to dry the moisture in the onions
• Add ginger, garlic and green chilli paste ,sauté again for sometime
• Now add all the dry masalas  and continue to saute, now add tomato puree and stir, let it cook till the oil separates
• Once cooked add coriander leaves, mix it well and remove from heat.
• When this mixture cools stuff in the Karela’s, secure them by tying them with a thread and shallow fry with little oil or no oil in a non-stick pan till nice and golden.
  ( Onions have to be grated in the manual grater by hand, do not blend or grind in the  grinder it will lose the taste completely)