Karela fry / Bitter gourd fry / Kakarakaya Vepudu

Karela Fry

Karela ( hindi )- Bitter gourd ( English )- Kakarakaya ( telugu ) - is one name that no one likes as it is very bitter. When I was a child I used to find ways to escape eating it. But I did not have an option. I used to get caught by my mom and she used to feed me forcibly. But later on she twisted the recipe and made it more tasty. She started adding potatoes and other veggies to reduce the bitterness in the curry so that we could eat it nicely.

On the other hand it is very good for health. There are many health benefits of this karela. This controls the sugar level in the blood. It is very rich in vitamins, minerals and is a rich source of fibre. This is also rich in folates which is required by women in their early pregnancy time. This unique vegetable kills all the germs in the body. It is said that the juice of this vegetable is very healthy in its own way.
The basic dish with karela is karela fry. Today I have made it with karela as the only ingredient. Though I have not added any other veggies, it still does not taste that bitter. Keeping the benefits in mind, we can happily enjoy this dish.

Method :

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once they splutter add garlic and fry until they turn a light brown colour.

Add chopped onion, dry red chillies and fry until the onions turn pink. Add turmeric and curry leaf powder and mix well.

 Add chopped bitter gourd and salt. Mix well. Fry uncovered until the bitter gourd pieces are cooked.

This would take approximately 15 minutes in low flame . Finally add chilli powder and fry for another 2 minutes.

Transfer to a serving bowl and serve hot with steamed rice . This tastes awesome and is very healthy.

Preparation time : 15 minutes

Cooking time : 20 minutes

Ingredients for preparing the curry :

Oil  : 2 tbsp

Mustard seeds :  1 tsp

Cumin seeds :  1 tsp

Garlic  :  6-8 pods

Onion :  1 ( sliced )

Red chillies  :  2

Turmeric powder : 1 tsp

Curry leaf powder : 1 tsp ( optional )

Karela / bitter gourd  : 2 medium ( neatly washed and chopped )

Salt  : to taste

Chilli powder :  1 tsp ( optional )

Method for preparing the curry :

1. Wash the bittergourds gently with a soft brush to remove all the dirt.

2. Chop them into small pieces and keep aside.

3. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard and cumin seeds.

4. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add peeled garlic and fry until they change the colour to light brown.

5. Now add sliced onions and dry red chillies and fry until the onions turn transparent.

6. Next add turmeric powder, curry leaf powder and mix well.

7. Add the chopped bittergourd pieces and salt. Mix well.

8. Cook uncovered on a low flame till the vegetable turns soft.

9. Add chilli powder according to your taste and fry for another two minutes.

10. Remove from flame and serve with hot steamed rice.

This should be had with hot rice else it will not taste that good.

I will post another version of the same curry with other veggies included in my upcoming posts.