Bharwa Karela | Stuffed Bitter gourd

Step 1

Take the bittergourd and scrape lightly with a knife. Now make a vertical slit from top to the bottom and scoop out the flesh and seeds of the karela.

Step 2

Discard the seeds. To reduce the bitterness of karela, I apply some salt both inside and outside and keep aside for half an hour.

Step 3

After half an hour, wash the karelas off all the salt, dry and keep aside. I also either microwave the karelas for about 2 minutes to slightly cook them or parboil them with some tamarind paste (about 1/4 tsp.) for 2-3 minutes for the same effect.

Step 4

Take 1 tsp. mustard oil in a kadhai. Add sliced onions and ginger garlic paste and fry till golden brown. Now blend into a thick paste when it cools down. Add all the spice powders, salt and tamarind pulp and cook some more. Let the stuffing be thick. Check taste and adjust seasoning. Let the stuffing cool down completely.

Step 5

Now take the split karelas and spoon the stuffing inside generously. To prevent the karelas from opening up while frying, I tie the normal sewing thread around them to keep them intact (especially when shallow frying).

Step 6

Preheat Air fryer at 200 C or 390 F for 5 minutes. Spray or brush oil on Air fryer basket.

Step 7

Lay the filled karelas on the basket and Air fry for about 6-8 minutes till the karelas are golden brown and slightly crisp. Keep checking every 3-4 minutes. Take them out and serve hot with rotis.

Step 8

Heat some more mustard oil. Add fenugreek seeds and allow them to sputter. Shallow fry the karelas on both sides on a low flame till they are well cooked and brown in colour. You can cover the kadhai when they are cooking.

Step 9

Serve them hot with chapatis and dal. They are delicious.