Anardana stuffed bharwa Karela recipe

12 May Anardana stuffed bharwa Karela recipe

Last Updated on July 9, 2021 by blessmyfoodbypayal

Bharwa Karela recipe | How To Make Bharwa Karela Recipe | Stuffed Karela Recipe  with step wise pictorial and video recipe.

Shallow fried Bitter Gourd stuffed with a gooey paste of dry pomegranate seeds (anardana) and onion makes this tongue tingling recipe “Bharwa Karela”, a household name in India.

THIS RECIPE IS :

√Vegan
√Glutenfree
√Slightly Spicy
√Mildly tangy
√Utterly juicy
√Satisfying
√Long lasting
√Healthy
√Lip smacking
√Finger licking delicious and
√Mouthwatering

ABOUT KARELA

Karela is the hindi name for a green skinned Vegetable Bitter Gourd having a taste that fits it’s name.

This Vegetable is called by different names in different countries like bitter apple, bitter cucumber, African cucumber, wild cucumber, momordica, kathilla, vegetable insulin, carilla gourd, bitter melon and carilla fruit.

Less for the health benefits and more for their taste, this vegetable is more known for their inherent bitter flavour.

This is the only characteristic which makes it unacceptable to many, especially kids.

HOW TO REDUCE BITTERNESS FROM KARELA

Everyone loves karela in our family as it is so we never processed Karele from the method of reducing bitterness.

But if anyone doesn’t like to eat karela due to its bitterness, then you can follow the following guidelines :

1. Scrape the skin of karela/bitter gourd.

2. Rub good amount of salt over peeled karela.

3. Rest bitter gourd for some time.

4. Wash it well.

5. Squeeze out the water.

6. Now most of the bitterness of karela must have been gone. Cook the way you like.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF KARELA/BITTER GOURD

Good for the people with diabetes, high cholesterol, constipation, heart issues and liver malfunctioning.

Bitter gourd is also helpful in boosting the immune system, weight loss and works as a blood purifier.

For the said reasons, karela is counted as the must recipe in our diet.

TRADITIONAL KARELA RECIPE

The way traditional karela recipe has always been full of mess.

I have seen my mother and ladies in the family making it, and the way they used to cook it was very time taking as well as mushy.

Though the process of preparing the stuffing was the same, but they used to fill the stuffing in karela slits, tie each karela with a thread so that while stirring, stuffing shouldn’t come out.

Even then stuffing used to ooze out and it was really untidy to untie the threads.

IMPROVISING MY RECIPE

Although I have not taken a complete U turn from the traditional recipe, but improvised the same for friendly experience with no mess in the kitchen.

Instead of frying Karele after stuffing them, I have separately shallow fried bitter gourd, cooked stuffing separately and at last, conveniently filled stuffing in fried Karele.

As simple as that.

TAKE CARE

1. Use a heavy bottomed pan so that karela must not burn outside and remain raw within.

2. Pan you are using must be wide so that each karela gets a space over the bottom without overlapping one another.

SUBSTITUTE OF ANARDANA (Dry pomegranate seeds)

Anardana/dry pomegranate seeds are the prime ingredient of this recipe, which gives a tongue tingling taste to this recipe.

In case you don’t find dry Pomegranate seeds at your place, you can simply skip them and make the stuffing with onion paste only.

Though this way, you will miss that tangy touch in the recipe, which makes it a special recipe.

Furthermore, adding tangy ingredient in bitter gourd will help you, not to feel the heat of that typical bitterness.

However in any case, to replace dry pomegranate seeds, you can use any of the following :

a. Dry mango powder
b. Raw mango
c. Tamarind pulp

Just add a tablespoon or two of dry mango powder while cooking stuffing, Or

Grate raw mango and cook it with stuffing, Or

Make a very thick paste of tamarind and make it a part of stuffing cooking.

Choose the option, most suitable to you.

ALSO SEE

• Bharva baingan recipe
• mushroom do pyaza restaurant style
• Lehsuni palak
• Arbi ki sukhi Sabzi
• ganth gobi kashmiri style (kohlrabi)
• Paneer changezi recipe
• baingan ka bharta

STEP WISE PICTORIAL RECIPE OF STUFFED KARELA

This recipe involves 5 steps :

a. Cutting and Washing of Bitter gourd
b. Frying Bitter gourd
c. Crushing the Ingredients used for stuffing.
d. Cook the crushed stuffing along with spices and
e. Filling the stuffing in fried bitter gourd.

CUTTING AND WASHING BITTER GOURD

1. Either using knife or peeler, scrape the skin of bitter gourd.
2. You may cut those bitter gourd into two halves which are too long in length.
3. With the help of knife, slit bitter gourd length wise from the center keeping the base intact.
4. This cut creates a pocket in the bitter gourd.
5. Remove the seeds from within the pockets, i.e. from inside the bitter gourd.
6. And then wash all the bitter gourd under running water in a colander.. Keep aside so that water drains from them.

FRYING KARELA/BITTER GOURD

1. Heat oil in a pan.
2. Add bitter gourd in such a way that they don’t overlap with each other.
3. Cover the pan with a lid and let bitter gourd shallow fry.
4. Once they attain fried spots (blackish) underneath, turn their sides using a tong.
5. Once all the bitter gourds fry properly from all sides, remove them out of the pan.

CRUSHING THE STUFFING

1. Take a mortar and add anardana, green chillies and coriander leaves. Instead you can use the electric blender.
2. With the help of a pestle, start crushing the added ingredients.
3. When the anardana and other ingredients are almost crushed, start adding onion (already cut into chunks) little at a time (see notes below).
4. Keep on adding little onion, crush it, then more onion and again crush that and likewise crush the entire onion. You will get a fine paste. (notes). Keep aside.

COOKING THE STUFFING

1. We have used the same pan for cooking the stuffing, in which bitter gourd was shallow fried. This pan already have about 1 tsp of oil leftover so not adding additional oil.
2. Add cumin seeds into the pan and let them splitter.
3. Transfer the crushed anardana mixture into pan and let mixture cook on low heat.
4. Add red chilli powder, turmeric, cumin powder, garam masala and salt. Mix.
5. Keep cooking the mixture until it turns dry and start leaving the sides of the pan. You may add a spoonful of water if the mixture is still raw but sticking to the base of the pan.
6. Once mixture gets properly cooked, switch off the heat and let mixture cool down to the extent that you can touch it comfortably. This is our stuffing.

FILLING KAREKE

1. Pick a bitter gourd and using your fingers, fill the sufficient amount of stuffing in the pocket of it.
2. Likewise fill all the bitter gourds with the stuffing.
3. As the bitter gourds have turned completely cold by this time, transfer them in the same pan, keeping filled side UP.
4. Put a lid and let them become hot on a very low heat.
5. Anardane wale karele are ready. 

BHARWA KARELA RECIPE – RECIPE CARD

Anardana stuffed Bharwa Karela Recipe

blessmyfoodbypayal

Shallow fried Bitter Gourd stuffed with a gooey paste of dry pomegranate seeds (anardana) and onion makes this tongue tingling "Bharwa Karela recipe", a household name in India.

5 from 9 votes

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Course Main Course, sabji

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

FOR SHALLOW FRYING KARELA/BITTER GOURD

• 500 grams Karele/bitter gourd about 13 pieces
• 4 tbsp oil

FOR CRUSHING STUFFING

• 1/4 cup anardana
• 3 onions big
• 4 green chillies
• Handful of coriander leaves

FOR COOKING STUFFING

• crushed anardana mixture
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp garam masala

FOR STUFFING KARELE/BITTER GOURD

• Cooked stuffing
• Fried bitter gourd

Instructions

 

This recipe involves 5 steps :

• Cutting and Washing of Bitter gourd
• Frying Bitter gourd
• Crushing the Ingredients used for stuffing.
• Cook the crushed stuffing along with spices and
• Filling the stuffing in fried bitter gourd.

CUTTING AND WASHING BITTER GOURD

• Either using knife or peeler, scrape the skin of bitter gourd.
• You may cut those bitter gourd into two halves which are too long in length.
• With the help of knife, slit bitter gourd length wise from the center keeping the base intact.
• This cut creates a pocket in the bitter gourd.
• Remove the seeds from within the pockets, ie from inside the bitter gourd.
• And then wash all the bitter gourd under running water in a colander.. Keep aside so that water drains from them.

FRYING KARELA/BITTER GOURD

• Heat oil in a pan.
• Add bitter gourd in such a way that they don't overlap with each other.
• Cover the pan with a lid and let bitter gourd shallow fry.
• Once they attain fried spots (blackish) underneath, turn their sides using a tong.
• Once all the bitter gourds fry properly from all sides, remove them out of the pan.

CRUSHING THE STUFFING

• Take a mortar and add anardana, green chillies and coriander leaves. Instead you can use the electric blender.
• With the help of a pestle, start crushing the added Ingredients.
• When the anardana and other Ingredients are almost crushed, start adding onion (already cut into chunks) little at a time (see notes below).
• Keep on adding little onion, crush it, then more onion and again crush that and likewise crush the entire onion. You will get a fine paste. (notes). Keep aside.

COOKING THE STUFFING

• We have used the same pan for cooking the stuffing, in which bitter gourd was shallow fried. This pan already have about 1 tsp of oil leftover so not adding additional oil.
• Add cumin seeds into the pan and let them splitter.
• Transfer the crushed anardana mixture into pan and let mixture cook on low heat.
• Add red chilli powder, turmeric, cumin powder, garam masala and salt. Mix.
• Keep cooking the mixture until it turns dry and start leaving the sides of the pan. You may add a spoonful of water if the mixture is still raw but sticking to the base of the pan.
• Once mixture gets properly cooked, switch off the heat and let mixture cool down to the extent that you can touch it comfortably. This is our stuffing.

FILLING KAREKE

• Pick a bitter gourd and using your fingers, fill the sufficient amount of stuffing in the pocket of it.
• Likewise fill all the bitter gourds with the stuffing.
• As the bitter gourds have turned completely cold by this time, transfer them in the same pan, keeping filled side UP.
• Put a lid and let them become hot on a very low heat.
• Anardane wale karele are ready.

Keyword bharwa karela, bharwan karela, stuffed bitter gourd