Bitter Gourd Stir Fry or Kakarakaya Fry | How to make Bitter Gourd Fry Without Bitterness | Easy Karela Fry Recipe – Simple bitter gourd recipe prepared with minimal spices. It is slightly tangy, spicy and finally the sugar helps in caramelising the onions to lend a sweet tinge to the dish, hence balancing out the bitterness.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in March 2015 and has been updated with Video and a few new photos. But the content remains unchanged.
I guess bitter gourd is one of the most neglected vegetable. I know people who adore it or totally hate it, there is no in-between. How many of you agree with me? But what we tend to forget is the wonderful health benefits that are hidden in this not-so-frequently-used vegetable. Today I’m going to share with you Bitter gourd stir fry or kakarakaya fry using bitter gourd. This is a must try for those who love this vegetable. And for all those who have not even tried or hate it, I’m going to try my share to convince you to give it a try with this simple recipe to like it.
Btw..I must admit that I never ate this veggie at my mom’s place. I hardly remember my mom even cooking this vegetable. But, I had it for the first time with lot of hesitation when my mom-in-law made it and since then my love for this bitter-tasting vegetable grew leaps and bounds. I experiment and prepare bitter gourd in different ways as any other vegetable. This Bitter gourd stir fry or kakarakaya fry is a little bitter, little tangy, little sweet, little salty and finally very spicy to balance out all the flavours. It is loaded with onions and the sugar added helps in caramelising the onions and lends a sweet taste to the bitter gourd, which is the best part of the fry.
Health Benefits of Bitter Gourd:
Before going into the recipe, few words on its health benefits. I know what you are thinking at the moment!!…Though most of us are aware of its benefits, sometimes we tend to neglect, so this is only for them ;-). Bitter gourd is rich in various vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre. It has double the level of all these essential nutrients than those that are present in some other fruits and vegetables.
Traditional medicine recommends drinking bitter gourd juice on an empty stomach in the morning to lower the blood sugar level and keep diabetes in check. This juice extracted by grinding bitter gourd is also known to clean the gut of worms and harmful germs. Enough said….I know what’s running in your mind!!…..Definitely, I don’t think I can ever drink this juice, but love to enjoy it when cooked in the right way. It may lose some of its nutrients when cooked, but better than totally avoiding this vegetable.
Off to the recipe for Bitter gourd stir fry or kakarakaya fry….
Step-by-Step process in making
Bitter Gourd Stir Fry or Kakarakaya Fry:
Prep Work:
- Wash bitter gourds, slice them into thin circular pieces.
- Slice onions lengthwise, Peel garlic pods and make them into two halves if the pods are too big.
- Transfer the bitter gourd pieces to a microwave safe bowl.
- To this add yoghurt, turmeric powder and a little salt and mix well.
- Microwave for 6 to 8 minutes or till all the water evaporates as shown in the pic 4. Basically yoghurt helps to remove some bitterness from the bitter gourd and also gives a good taste to the fry.
Let’s make Bitter Gourd Fry or Kakarakaya Fry:
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and dry red chillies.
- Once the mustard starts to pop up, add sliced onion, garlic pods, curry leaves and sauté for 2 minutes till translucent.
- Now add microwaved bitter gourd pieces to the onions.
- Sauté on medium heat till the bitter gourd pieces start turning brown. I t may take about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Now add red chilli powder and sauté for another 5 minutes.
- Add amchur powder (dry mango powder),a little sugar and required salt. The addition of sugar helps in caramelising the onions and lends a sweet taste to bitter gourd.
- Sauté over high heat until you get a nice dark brown colour for about 3 to 5 minutes. If you are generous in using oil, the fry turns out crispy. I try and use as little oil as possible, so it doesn’t turn out that crispy. But there is no compromise in taste. Feel free to do whatever suits you.
- Finally add finely chopped coriander. Mix well and turn off the heat.
- Serve Bitter gourd stir fry or Kakarakaya fry with hot rice and ghee (optional) or as a side dish to rice with Dal, Sambar or Rasam or with any Indian breads like roti or paratha.
Bitter Gourd Stir Fry or Kakarakaya Fry | Easy Karela Fry Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 Tender bitter gourds Wash & slice into thin circles
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
- 2 tbsp Sour Yoghurt
- 2 tbsp Oil to shallow fry
- 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
- 1½ tsp Cumin Seeds
- 2 Dry Red Chillies
- 1 Large Onion thinly sliced
- 10 Garlic Pods Peeled
- A Sprig of Curry Leaves
- 1½ tsp Red chilli powder
- 1 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1 tsp Amchur Powder Dry mango powder
- 1 tbsp Jaggery or Sugar
- 2 tbsp Coriander finely chopped
Instructions
- Take bitter gourd pieces in a microwave safe bowl, add yoghurt, turmeric powder and some salt.
- Mix well and microwave the bitter gourd pieces for 5 to 6 minutes or until all the water evaporates.
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and dry red chillies.
- Once the mustard starts to pop up, add sliced onion, garlic pods, curry leaves and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Now add microwaved bitter gourd pieces.
- Fry them over medium heat for 8-10 minutes till the bitter gourd pieces start to turn brown. Slow roasting is the key.
- Now add red chilli powder, coriander powder, amchur powder & jaggery. Mix well and continue to fry.
- Adjust salt.
- Fry over high heat until you get a nice dark brown colour for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Finally add finely chopped coriander, mix well and turn off the heat.
Recipe Video
Notes
- The addition of sugar is optional, but I recommend to use it. If you don't like sweet taste, you can avoid.
- There should be loads of onions to get a good taste and to compensate the bitterness.
- You can also use tamarind juice instead of amchur powder. There will be a slight difference in taste.
- You can use jaggery or sugar.
- Using sour curd is important to balance out the bitterness.
- At the end, if you still feel it is too bitter to your liking, then squeeze in some lemon juice. But make sure you balance the salt.
- Finally adjust spice levels with red chilli powder and dry red chillies to suit your taste and make sure to balance out all the flavours.
You might want to try out other popular posts in the same category like Potato fry, Stuffed okra, Eggplant stir fry, Bhindi fry, Arbi fry….and for my lovely carnivores out there I have Chicken fry, Masala Egg fry.
Check out other Vegetable Dry Curries, Indian Vegetarian Recipes and Regional Indian Cuisines from blog!!
Many more to come!!…..STAY TUNED!!
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Happy Cooking 
Cheers!!
Padma.
