Happy 2nd Anniversary!!! & Bharwan Karela

I know, I can’t believe it myself that it has been over two years since I started my food blog. Along the way, I made so many friends through fellow blogger’s and realized that there so many talented foodies out there. Blogging world opened new doors for my recipe creativity. Thanks so much to each and every one of you who shared the journey with me in the last two years and motivated me to keep going; and I am going stronger with your support in trying out new recipes so that you & your family can enjoy the same. It’s a bit strange that I am celebrating this anniversary with karela of all the fruits, vegetables and desserts. Why not? If it is such an interesting vegetable that lets me to be more creative with it, why not? After all this blogging world had taught me to be creative, isn’t it? Yes, it is Bharwan Karela for the 2nd anniversary of my blog. And, A Very Happy Anniversary 365 Days of Pure Vegetarian.

Karela or Bitter Gourd is not everyone’s favorite but could be made into delicious side dish with just a little imagination. It has so much medicinal properties and used to treat constipation, digestion, diabetes, malaria and much more. Yes, it is indeed bitter and as kid I did not enjoy it one bit but I guess as I grew and understood it’s value, I learned to appreciate this vegetable and now I make it every week and we truly enjoy it each time. Surprisingly my husband also loved this vegetable as much as I did and it becomes so much easier for me to make it every week. So, introduce this vegetable into your diet if you have not done it already and you will be amazed.

Stuffed karela with aloo mixture before being cooked

Recipe:
6 – 8 pieces of small to medium size karela
1 medium size onion finely chopped
1 medium size cooked and mashed aloo
1 tsp rai
1 tbsp Oil
1 tsp of ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
1 – 2 tsp red chili powder or per taste
1/2 tsp haldi powder
3 tsp of dhania powder
1 tsp Amchur
1 green chili finely chopped or per taste
Some chopped cilantro
1 tbsp lemon or lime juice
Salt to taste

Wash karela and scrape the skin just a little. Slit the karela with it’s in tact. Apply a good amount of salt and lemon or lime juice all over the karela and keep it aside for at least 2 – 3 hours. Carefully scoop out the inside of the karela and keep it aside. In a pan, heat oil and add rai let it splutter then add onion, ginger/garlic, green chili and sauté. Once the onions are almost cooked add the scrapings from the karela and sauté well. Add all the spices and mix well. Now add the mashed aloo, cilantro and mix. Let the mixture cool.
After a couple of hours squeezethe karela well, I mean really hard and you will see bitter juices will run out. Now fill in the stuffing into each karela. You need not add more salt as the karela has already absorbed enough salt. In a non-stick pan, add oil and place the karela’s. Cover it with a lid and let it cook. Turn the side of the karela such that it’s cooked and turned golden brown all around. Karela is ready to be relished with some hot roti or chappati.

Happy 2nd Anniversary ~ Bharwan Karela