Spusht: Kurkura Karela - Crispy Fried Bitter Gourd

I don’t think bitter gourd (aka bitter melon) has many fans. I used to hate it. If I heard mom say she made “karele ki sabzi” (bitter gourd fry) I used to go “ewwww”. And one among the million differences my husband & I have is he loves bitter gourd sabzi. So around mid of last year I tried making it first time. Even after rubbing it in salt it was so disgustingly bitter that I swore I’d never make it again. But then you know, when your husband really likes something, you just feel like giving it another try.

Kukura Karela - fried bitter gourds & onions, rubbed with a salty-spicy-tangy masala mixture

So after he excitedly bought some home few weeks back, I half-heartedly began to peel them. The first thing that crossed my mind when I saw the bitter gourd was how creepily it resembled the rat that stole my plum!!!

With that shape, body & tail, don't you think it has an uncanny resemblance to the rat!?! :)

“Ugh,” I went, still feeling the goose bumps, and continued to cook. And after I tried one tiny bite of the sabji at dinner, I made it again the next day. That’s how much I actually, really, seriously and surprisingly liked this Kurkure Karele ki sabzi (Crispy Fried Bitter Gourd).

The masala that adds life to the karela

Kurkura Karela Recipe

What you'll need:

2 cup bitter gourd (karela), peeled and thinly sliced

2 Tbsp cashew nuts (kaju), roughly chopped

2 Tbsp raisins (kishmish)

1 cup onion (pyaaz), thinly sliced

2 tsp red chili (lal mirch) powder

2 tsp cumin seed (jeera) powder

1 tsp dry mango (amchoor) powder

1 tsp fennel seed (saunf) powder

1 tsp chaat masala

Salt & powdered sugar to taste [I used ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar]

Oil for deep frying

Let's Begin!

1. Toss the sliced bitter gourd with 1 Tbsp salt & keep them aside for 15-20 minutes. Then gently squeeze them to remove the bitter juice. Keep aside until use.

2. Heat oil in a pan; lightly fry the cashew nuts & raisins until golden brown, spread on one side of absorbent paper.

3. Then individually (separately) fry onion slices & squeezed bitter gourd slices until golden brown & crispy. You can choose not to make it too crispy if you don’t like it. Drain & spread on paper towel/absorbent paper/newspaper to remove excess oil.

4. Mix the 5 dry powdered spices along with salt & powdered sugar. Add the 3 fried items to this and rub them well between fingers (or toss). Done. Kurkura Karela is ready to eat with roti or rice. Doesn’t need to be reheated.

Notes:

- The nuts & raisins are optional; I liked the sweet raisins in between & crunchy cashews. In fact, you can even add crispy fried okra to this recipe along with onions & bitter gourd!

- It is very important to rub bitter gourd slices with salt well and squeeze out the juice; you don’t want to be punishing yourself later :D