Serves: 4
Ingredients:
250 gm bitter gourd
2 Tbsp. Mint Paste
2 tsp ginger paste
2 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp turmeric powder salt to taste
Stuffing of Bitter Gourd:
100 gm Roasted Gram Flour
50 gm peanuts
1 Tbsp. sesame seeds
1 onions (large, chopped and roasted)
2 inch piece of ginger (ground to a paste)
1 Tbsp. Spice Mix (garam masala)
2 green chilies
1 Tbsp. fresh coriander
1 Tbsp. tamarind pulp extract
1 Tbsp. jaggery (crumbled)
salt to taste
For Tempering:
1 Tbsp. oil
¼ Tbsp. cumin seeds
¼ Tbsp. mustard seeds
¼ Tbsp. fennel seeds
For Shallow Frying
2 Tbsp. Mustard Oil
Method:
Wash the bitter gourd, slit, rub salt and set side for 1 hour. Heat water in a bowl, add salt, ginger and garlic pastes and turmeric. Bring to a boil, add bitter gourd and blanch until soft. Drain and marinate with Mint Paste , keep aside.
Take peanuts, sesame seeds, cumin seeds and a roasted onion, in a blender, add little water and make a paste. Add ginger, green chillies, coriander, jaggery, tamarind paste and spice mix masala and salt with the paste and mix well.
Heat oil in a frying pan add cumin, fennel and mustard seeds, fry until they begin to splutter. Remove and pour over the paste, mix well
Stuff the mixture in each of the blanched bitter gourd and keep aside. In a shallow frying pan take 2 Tbsp. of Mustard oil, shallow fry the stuffed bitter gourd, be careful not to flip the open side. You can alternately bake the stuffed karelas (Bitter Gourd),arrange stuffed bitter gourd in a greased roasting tray with the open end on top, cover with foil, punch a couple of holes in the foil and cook in the pre-heated oven for 30 minutes. Remove and uncover.
