Tangy Bitter Gourd

When I was a little girl, I hated bitter gourd or kareleh as we call them in Punjabi. I hadn’t ever actually tried it, just the look of them used to freak me out! My brother and I would both wince whenever my Mum would cook them. 

As I got older though, I remember my Mum and auntie eating them with chapati’s and thinking… That actually looks really delicious! I tried some and I have never looked back! They are now a sought after food whenever my Mum cooks them, me, my sister in law and Dad fighting over the remaining kareleh.

Mum has her special way of cooking these which I don’t think I can contend with, plus I am scared of deep frying! She slits them in the middle and leaves the seeds in, scrapes the skin slightly and fry’s them until soft. She then makes a curried sauce which she stuff into the fried bitter gourd with potatoes on the side, it is heaven!

But as I was fresh off my love affair with Okinawa, I wanted to try it slightly differently. And as planned to have the aubergines quite saucy and unctuous, I wanted these to keep their bitterness and to add some lime for an extra punch.

Bitterness is taste that doesn’t really get utilised enough here in the west. It is a key component to keep your sweet cravings in check. If you take a pinch of something extremely bitter like ajwain when you are craving something sweet it can really counteract it and help to settle and balance the tastes. It’s one reason why Indians utilise things like spices, lentils, ginger, garlic etc as it can help to include all of the tastes (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, astringent and pungent).

Serves 4

  • You will need:

  • 2 large onions 

  • 3 Bitter gourds

  • 1 & ½ tsp of nigella seeds

  • Ground seeds of 2 black cardamom pods

  • Cumin powder

  • 2 cloves of garlic crushed

  • Generous thumb of ginger crushed

  • ½ tsp of turmeric powder

  • Salt and pepper to taste

  • Juice of 1 lime

  • Jaggery or maple syrup

  • 1 & ½ Tablespoon of ghee

VEG PREP

  • Chop the onions into small square chunks

  • Cut the ends of the bitter gourd, half them,scoop out the seeds and then chop them as shown in the picture

  • Peel the garlic and ginger and crush them in a blender or a pestle and mortar

COOK

  • In a pan, heat the ghee on a medium heat. Once hot, add the nigella seeds. When they begin to sizzle and pop, add the onions. Keep stirring until they are golden brown. 

  • Next add the ginger and garlic and cook for a further few minutes until fragrant before adding the turmeric powder and black pepper (using black pepper with turmeric enhances the bioavailability of the turmeric). Cook for a further few minutes before adding the bitter gourd slices. 

  • At this point you can add a little bit of water to ensure that it doesn’t stick to the pan. Cover with a lid and turn the heat down to low. Let it cook for about 20 minutes but keep checking every 5 minutes and stirring and adding water if it needs it.

  • Once the bitter gourd is soft and the they have become a little muted in colour, return the heat to medium. Add the lime juice, jaggery, salt to taste and the cardamom and cumin powder. Cook until the most of the liquid has evaporated and it is caramelised. 

  • I served mine with the curried zebra aubergines, yellow dhal and basmati rice.

Avi Sehmbi