Stuffed Karela, Making the bitter gourd palatable

We love bitter gourd. At least once a week it is on the menu in one shape or the other. This dish should ideally be prepared with the small ones, which can then be stuffed in one go without cutting them up. Big or small, this dish will have what it takes to those who love bitter gourd to another level. This dish takes time during roasting, so make it only when you have at least one hour to spare. 

Recipe for the Stuffed bitter gourd

3 Servings 

Bitter Gourd	2 long ones diced into 1 ½ inches - around 8 pieces. Do not slit in the middle while dicing. We will do that later on.
Onion	1 Medium diced
Tomato	1  medium diced
Roasted Peanut Powder	¼ cup Optional, Double the besan or mashed potato.
Besan or chick pea flour	¼ cup – Can be replaced with potato mash.
Tamarind	1 small lemon size soaked with little water. We only need just enough water to make a paste of the stuffing. This gives the necessary tang to offset the bitterness.
Oil	2  tsp

Directions

• Pressure cook for one whistle on high heat the diced karela with just enough water to submerge, 1/4 tsp of turmeric, 1/4 tsp of salt and a little of the soaked tamarind water. You can also add sour butter milk in place of tamarind. The karela should be just cooked with still some bite. Cool and drain them.
• Mix together diced onion, tomato, peanut powder, besan, salt, chilli powder if required and enough salt, depending on the preference. Moisten the mixture with the tamarind juice. About 1 tbsp should be enough or add as necessary.
• Slit the cooked karela and remove the seeds if they are mature. The tender seeds can be retained. 
• Stuff the filling with as much as little as you want. I stuff them to the brim, kind of opening up the halves. 
• I use my cast iron thick chapati tava for roasting these stuffed beauties. Use any thick bottomed pan or  kadai. Heat it to medium hot, and grease with 1 tsp of oil. 
• Place the stuffed karela, seams side up, in one layer. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes on medium. This is to cook the stuffing inside and continue to cook the karela and roast it. 
• Flip them around and at this point if the tava is not well seasoned, you will need more oil. Cook them uncovered for another 5 minutes. The idea is to roast the upper layer of the stuffing.
• At this point the karela is cooked thru, but if you want nice crip crust, then turn them around, add a bit of oil and roast them without cover for 10 minutes or more, depending on how crispy you want. 

It will take about an hour for the entire process, though the hands on time is not more than 10 minutes. Have them going on one stove, while rest of the weekend lunch or brunch is prepared. Serve with rice and sambar and savor the slightly tangy and bitter spicy dish.