Stuffed Bitter Gourd |bharleli bharli karli |bharwan karela maharshtrian style |Bharwan Karela Recipe with godamasala

Bitter Gourd (Karela/karli ) as the name suggests are bitter in taste and usually not liked by many people. You can make Stuffed Bitter Gourd recipe.

This is a spicy and tasty recipe and can also be consumed for a week.This is again moms recipe .You can make stuffed brinjals /stuffed ivygourds in this manner .


Todays recipe is stuffed Bitter Gourd /bharleli karli /bharwan karela in maharashtrian style using goda masala /kala masaala .the blackish tinge is due to use of kala masala 

Ingredients

4-5 Karli / bittergourd / karela /karli   ( small in size)

1 cup dry shredded coconut / wet coconut/desicated coconut

 1 big onion chopped

1/2 cup peanut powder or peanuts (roasted),

1 tbsp each coriander-cumin powder

2 tbsp maharashtrian-goda-masala

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tbsp jaggery,

2 tsp chili powder,

salt to taste,

2 tsp asafoetida,

1 tsp turmeric powder + 1 tsp red chilli powder

2 tbsp oil.


Method

1.Wash the bitter gourd and peel the skin roughly with peeler. After peeling the bitter gourd put 1/2 tea spoon salt over them and mix well. Leave the gourd for 15 minutes.



2.Now cut the gourd from the center leaving the bottom part. Do not make a deep cut, the bottom side should be joined so that it can be stuffed. Take out the pulp and the seeds on a plate from the gourd with the help of a knife and wash them again. Take 1 tea spoon salt, put little inside the gourd and apply little over the surface of each of them and leave them for an hour. Wash the gourd and prepare all the other in the same way.

3Add oil in  pan add chopped onions & wet coconut & roast together till light brown.Allow it to cool & Powder this mixture in a mixie.Combine lemon juice, jaggery, peanut powder, cumin-coriander powder, turmeric powder,salt, chili powder and goda masala with the ground mixture. Alternatively, grind all these ingredients together with the roasted mixture.

filling /stuffing for stuffed karli/karela

4.Stuff all the karela with above masala. & tie a thread so that mixture will not come out. remove thread once dish is cooked .



5.Take a kadai or a shallow non stick pan, and heat oil in it. Add mustard seeds. When you hear spluttering sound, add asafoetida and turmeric powder.

6.Add the stuffed karela and the leftover masala. Gently fry for sometime. Add 1/2 cup water.

 








7.Cover and cook over low-medium heat for about 15-25 min or until the brinjals turn soft and completely cooked. (To keep the masala from sticking to the bottom of the pan, cover the pan with a deep platter with some water in it. It helps the curry cook evenly without burning.)

8.Remove the lid and stir to check if the karela  are done. If not, cook further until well done.


9 Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with chapati or rice.

close look

Variations:

1.  Add 2 tspn asafoetida in tadka in step 4 .This helps to minimize the bitterness of   karela
2.  Try substituting gherkins (TONDLI) for the karli  in the above recipe.
3.  Choose small karelas as they cook fast 

Health benefits of Bitter gourd

• Very low in calories provides only 17 cal per 100g. The pods are rich in phytonutrients like dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins and anti-oxidants. 
• Bitter melon notably contains phyto-nutrient, polypeptide-P; a plant insulin known to lower blood sugar levels. In addition it also contain hypoglycemic agent called charantin. . Together, these compounds are thought to be responsible for reduction of blood sugar levels in the treatment of type-2 diabetes.
• Fresh pods are an excellent source of folates;   Folate helps reduce incidence of neural tube defects in pregnant mothers when taken during early pregnancy.
• Fresh bitter melon is an excellent source of vitamin-C (100g of raw pod provides about 140% of RDI). Vitamin-C, one of the powerful natural antioxidant, helps body scavenge deleterious free radicals one of the reasons for cancers development.
• The vegetable also an excellent source of health benefiting flavonoids such as b-carotene, a- carotene, lutein, zeaxanthins. It also contains good amount of vitamin A. These compounds help act as protective scavengers against oxygen-derived free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that play a role in aging, cancers and various disease processes.
• Bitter melon stimulates digestion and peristalsis which can be helpful in relieving indigestion and constipation problems.
• The vegetable is also good source of Niacin (vitamin B-3), Pantothenic acid (vit.B-5), Pyridoxine (vit.B-6) and minerals such as iron, zinc, potassium, manganese and magnesium.
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  Early laboratory tests suggest that compounds in bitter melon might be effective for treating HIV infection.