Karela or bitter gourd is a staple summer veggie in India Not a lot of us are fond of this bitter vegetable but do you know it is full of anti-oxidants and rich in Vitamin A and C. It has high anti-ageing, anti-dandruff properties and is a natural blood purifier. It is highly recommended to diabetics.  I plant a few seeds every year and enjoy fresh karelas from my vine – I usually make a morning detox juice of karela-cucumbers and tomato or this Malai Karela recipe that I have become so fond of.

Karelas_on_vine
Karelas_on_vine

Some most common cooking styles are the fried crispy chips version, the potato-karela sabzi version, the famous Bharwa/Stuffed Karela and so on. Recently a friend suggested trying this in a milk-based gravy or Malai Karela recipe and I frankly couldn’t relate to it. But I decided to humour her anyway and decided to make this. And guess what, I really liked it. So here’s the Malai Karela recipe. Hope you like it too.

PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes
COOKING TIME: 30 minutes
SERVINGS: 2
DIFFICULTY SCALE: Low

INGREDIENTS: 

  1. Bitter Gourd/karela – 4-5
  2. Onion – 1, large
  3. Cumin seeds – 1 teaspoon
  4. Red chilli powder – 1 teaspoon
  5. Turmeric powder – 1 teaspoon
  6. Coriander powder – 1 tablespoon
  7. Milk – 1 cup
  8. Heavy Cream – 1 tablespoon, optional
  9. Mustard oil – 2 tablespoons
  10. Coriander leaves – for garnish
  11. Salt – 2-3 tablespoons

UTENSILS/EQUIPMENT:

  1. Kadhai
  2. Serving Spoon

RECIPE:

  1. Wash the bitter gourd and cut them into round diagonal slices. Remove the seeds if they are ripe and hard.
  2. Keep them in a plate with 2 tablespoons of salt. Coat them thoroughly with your hands and keep overnight. This step will ensure to remove the bitterness of the gourd.
  3. Wash the karela slices under running water to remove all the salt and keep them in a strainer to dry slightly.
  4. In a wok or kadhai, add 1-2 tablespoons of mustard oil and heat on high flame till it becomes transparent.
  5. Add cumin seeds and allow them to crackle.
  6. Thinly slice the onion in long pieces and add it to the wok.
  7. Constantly stir the onions on medium heat and allow them to turn brown.
  8. Reduce the heat and add turmeric, red chilli and coriander powder.
  9. Add the karelas/gourd slices to the wok and add salt to taste.
  10. Cover with a lid and allow them to cook until they are more than half done. This will take 12-15 minutes on low flame.
  11. Add a cup of milk and mix well and allow the mixture to simmer for 10 more minutes.
  12. The gravy will turn creamier and thick after that. Pinch a piece to see of the gourd slices are cooked.
  13. You could add a tablespoon of cream if you like them to be creamier, but this is not necessary. I didn’t add cream in this version.
  14. Serve the Malai Karela hot with roti/paratha or with rice and any dal.
Malai Karela Recipe
Malai Karela Recipe

NOTE:

  1. Cut the gourd into slices of about half an inch in thickness. If you cut extremely thin or thick slices, the cooking time may vary.
  2. It’s not necessary to leave the gourd overnight. You could leave it for 2-3 hours or so.
  3. Since the gourd is kept in salt, please be careful of the amount of salt you add in the vegetable.