Hi friends!! A quick share before the weekend kicks off!! This recipe is a part of the category JUST RECIPES….So I’m going to keep it short & simple. Kakarakaya Pulusu Kura is an Andhra style recipe where bitter gourd is cooked in a spicy tamarind sauce with lots of garlic. It’s prepared as a part of everyday cooking in most households. I have rambled so much about this super healthy and diabetic friendly vegetable in my very first bitter gourd recipe post and also my all time favourite Kakarakaya karam post on this blog.
Attention all the Bitter Gourd HATERS!!…..Do try it out and I bet you will want to make it more often in your kitchen!!……Of course, this is a must try recipe for all the Bitter gourd LOVERS like MOI.
Let’s directlyly jump into the recipe for Kakarakaya Pulusu Kura!!
Step-by-Step process to prepare Kakarakaya Pulusu Kura:
- Wash and trim the edges of bitter gourds. Scrape the rough skin of the bitter gourd (scraping is optional though). Don’t peel off the skin completely for this curry.
- Deseed the bitter gourds i.e scoop out the seeds with a spoon and cut into thin circular pieces. (Scoop out seeds only if they are too mature and hard). I’m cooking along with the seeds as they are quite tender.
- Add salt and turmeric to the pieces. Mix and leave it aside for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile get ready with the rest of the ingredients. Chop onions, tomato, slit green chillies, peel garlic and grate some jaggery.
- Soak tamarind in warm water and extract juice.
- Add quarter a cup of water to the bitter gourd pieces and microwave for 4-5 minutes. You can also the stove top for boiling. They should be half cooked.
NOTE:
Alternately, you can squeeze the pieces after adding water, remove the water to reduce bitterness and then add some more water and microwave. But, I skip this as I like bitterness in the tangy spicy curry.
Let’s start preparing the gravy:
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add fenugreek seeds and mustard seeds.
- When mustard starts spluttering & the fenugreek seeds start turning brown, add chopped onions & green chillies. Sauté for a minute.
- Now add in the garlic pods.
- Sauté till the onions turn transparent. Now add the microwaved bitter gourd pieces and stir for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Now add chopped tomato pieces and sauté till the tomatoes become mushy.
- Add red chilli powder and required salt.
- Mix well, stir for a minute and then add tamarind extract.
- Now add jaggery ( or sugar) to it.
- Add required water, stir and close the lid. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes over medium heat.
- Then open the lid and cook till the gravy thickens or to your desired consistency.
- Turn off the heat and garnish with coriander.
- Kakarakaya pulusu kura /Bitter Gourd Gravy/Karela khatta meetha sabzi/Bitter Gourd Sweet & Sour curry is ready!! Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rice or rotis.
A Quick Summary:
Kakarakaya Pulusu Kura | Bitter Gourd Gravy Andhra Recipe
Ingredients
- 300 grams Bitter Gourd
- 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 2 Tablespoons Oil
- 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon Fenugreek seeds
- 2 Onions chopped
- 3-4 green chillies slit
- 8-10 garlic pods peeled
- 1 Tomato chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Red Chilli Powder
- Lemon size tamarind soak in warm water and extract juice
- Salt to taste
- 1-2 Tablespoon Jaggery or Sugar
- Few curry leaves
- Coriander for garnish
Instructions
- Wash bitter gourds, trim edges, scrape the rough skin slightly.
- Add salt, turmeric, mix and leave it for 10 minutes.
- Add little water to the bitter gourd pieces and microwave for 4-5 minutes.
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add fenugreek seeds and mustard seeds.
- When mustard splutters, add chopped onions, green chillies and garlic pods. Sauté for a minute.
- Once onions turn transparent, add the bitter gourd pieces and stir for 3 minutes.
- Add tomato pieces and sauté till mushy.
- Now add red chilli powder, tamarind extract, salt, jaggery and curry leaves.
- Add required water, stir and cook till the gravy thickens.
- Turn off the heat and garnish with coriander.
My Notes:
- Adjust spice, tang and sweetness to suit your taste. Though this is supposed to be on the sweeter side to balance out the bitterness, you can reduce sweetness, if you do not like it.
- We use more amount of tamarind extract in the recipe, so there should be a perfect balance of spices, jaggery and salt.
- You can also substitute red chilli powder with sambar powder or a mix of both.
- Let the gravy sit for 2 to 3 hours before serving…but trust me any tangy gravy tastes best the next day after absorbing all the flavours.
- You can also follow this recipe to T for other veggies like okra, arbi, drumstick, brinjal etc. Just reduce the sweetness or even skip it!!
Check out other Vegetable Gravy Recipes & Andhra Recipes from blog.
Bitter Gourd Recipes from blog –
Many more to come!!…..STAY TUNED!!
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Happy Cooking 🙂
Cheers!!
Padma.
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