Bitter Gourd Subzi | Karela Subzi

Karela subzi or bitter gourd subzi or karatyachi bhaji is a delicious stir fry. This dry karela subzi has a tangy, spicy, sweet and mildly bitter taste. I am sure your taste palate will enjoy this subzi. I have been making this subzi since a long time. My hubby is a bitter gourd lover and I was a hater. But ever since I made this subzi, I started liking bitter gourd. Also I want to thank a friend from my previous company who had forced me to eat bitter gourd. Yes, I love it tangy, spicy and sweet.

This bitter gourd subzi is very easy to make. Just marinate the chopped bitter gourd in little salt and keep aside for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, squeeze the chopped bitter gourd and remove excess water. In this way some amount of bitter taste will be washed off from the karela pieces.

After this step, the karela is ready for cooking. Take a frying pan or kadai with flat bottom. Add oil and sauté onions. Then add karela pieces and cook on low flame with lid of kadai covered. If it starts sticking to the bottom, add very little water and cook on low flame with lid covered. After karela is cooked, add spices, jaggery and tamarind pulp. If needed add salt and mix. This makes the karela subzi spicy, tangy, sweet and mildly bitter too.

Serve this bitter gourd dry subzi with rice, dal and rotis. You can even make it in the morning and pack it in the lunch box.

Bitter gourd is good for health and has numerous health benefits. It strengthens the immune system, has anti-diabetic property, and improves skin conditions and many more. Hence it is good to incorporate bitter gourd in the family diet on a regular basis.

I also made other delicacies with bitter gourd like rava fried bitter gourd, karatyachi kismoor and stuffed bitter gourd. All these dishes turn lipsmakingly delicious.

Bitter Gourd Subzi | Karela Subzi

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Bitter Gourd Subzi | Karela Subzi

Course Main Dish, Sides, Stir Fry

Cuisine Goan, Indian

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 4 People

Author Raksha Kamat

Ingredients

• 2 medium sized bitter gourd
• 1 medium sized onion finely chopped
• 2 tablespoon jaggery grated
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 tablespoon tamarind pulp see notes
• 2 tablespoon grated coconut
• 2 teaspoon oil
• To taste Salt

Instructions

• Wash the bitter gourds. Cut them into 2 and scoop using a spoon.
• Cut the bitter gourd into thin pieces.
• Take a bowl and add karela pieces. Add little salt and mix. Keep aside for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, squeeze and discard water from the bitter gourd pieces.
• Heat a frying pan or a kadai with flat bottom and add oil.
• Add onion and sauté till onion turns pinkish.
• Next, add karela pieces and mix. Cook on low flame and toss occasionally.
• Add grated coconut and mix well.
• If needed add ¼ cup water and cook till the bitter gourd pieces are cooked.
• Add chili powder and turmeric powder and mix well.
• Add grated jaggery and tamarind pulp and mix.
• Add salt to taste keeping in mind that some amount of salt was already added in the initial steps.

Notes

• To make tamarind pulp, soak 1 marble sized ball of tamarind in ¼ Th cup water for 30 minutes. Squeeze and extract pulp.
• Quantity of jaggery can be adjusted as per taste of bitter gourds.