Achari karela sabzi- Bitter gourd cooked in a tangy sweet and sour sauce with pickle spices
Achari Karela- Karela/Bitter gourd is a summer special vegetable in India.Now you can find karela every where in the vegetable market but it is among the few vegetables which are not liked by many people.Often people just dislike the bitter taste of karela but their are still many who loves its bitter taste .
Others who just make it a weekly habit to consume this veggie for its numerous health benefits.Many variety of karelas are available in the market which range from really bitter to not so bitter.how ever applying salt removes the bitterness from it to some extent.
Making good karela dish requires some patience,time and skill. Scraping or peeling karela itself takes some time. you have to apply salt over it and let it rest for some time and then have to wash it well to remove the salt and the bitterness.
To make karela dishes a sour spice or vegetable should be added in it and raw mango pairs very well with karela .You can also use dried mango powder /amchoor or tamarind in case raw mangoes are not easily available .
In this Achari kareka ki sabzi I have tempered and sauteed the bitter gourd pieces in pickle spices and instead of using raw mango I have used jaggary and Tamarind pulp.
To remove the bitterness and to fasten up the cooking time I have boiled the slices ,but you can steam it or just directly start cooking with out boiling it ,taste great any ways
You can also try these delicious karela recipes-
Achari Karela Sabzi
Ingredients
- 6 Bitter Gourd / Karela medium size
- 2.5 tbsp Jaggary / Gud
- 2 tbsp Tamarind / Imli dried
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder / Haldi Powder
- 2 tsp Red Chilli powder / Laal mirch powder
- 1 tsp Coriander Powder / Dhaniya Powder
- to taste Salt / Namak
Tempering/ Tadka
- 3 tbsp Mustard Oil / Sarso ka tel
- 1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds / Saunf
- 1/3 tsp Cumin Seeds / Sabut Jeera
- 1/3 tsp Mustard Seeds / Rai
- 1/4 tsp Fenugreek Seeds / Methidana
- 1/4 tsp Onion seeds /Kalonji
Instructions
- Wash,scrape the peel and slice karela into thin roundals.
- Add 1 tbsp of salt and mix in the slices and then keep covered for 1/2 hour.
- Now squeeze the water released from the karela slices and then wash them well with enough water and keep aside.
- Boil 2 glasses of water in a pan and when it start boiling then add the karela slices and let i cook till half done.
- Drain the water from the boiled karela and keep aside.
- Soak tamarind in 3/4 cup water and then mash it and squeeze the juice and keep aside
- Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan and add the tempering and let it crackle
- Add turmeric powder in the oil and then add the karela pieces and saute for a minute.
- Add salt ,mix and then cover the pan and cook on low heat till karela get cooked completely.
- Add chili powder,coriandar powder,jaggary and tamarind pulp.
- Cook on low heat till the gravy thicken.
- Serve with rice, paratha OR roti as a side dish with your meal.
Aachari karela is my favorite.I used to cook it once in a week in summers.It tastes yummy with curd.
karela, in Indonesia called Pare or Paria.. you Karela looks so delicious…thank you for sharing…
I love achar and achari food as well, you achari karela sabzi amaz me a lot. looks so delicious wanna taste it right now.