Bitter gourd stir fry with onion- simple Indian recipe

Bitter gourd stir fry with onion- simple Indian recipe

Bitter gourd is one vegetable many of us sincerely hate. But even then we have to admit it has great nutritional value. In naturopathy, it is used as medicine for diabetes. Here is one easy, simple recipe for those who are not very enthusiastic about eating karela/bitter gourd.

Wash and cut the bitter gourds lengthwise. Remove the seeds. Many like to leave the seeds if the bitter gourd is tender and seeds are not hard. (Anyway, I always remove the seed so that I don’t have to stop halfway to remove the one or two seeds that get trapped in my slicer.)  Slice the gourds very thin. The thinner the slices, the quicker they get cooked. Take a large bowl of salted water and let the sliced gourds soak for 5-10 minutes. This removes some of the ‘bitterness’. You can omit this step if you are a true karela lover. Drain, press with hands to remove as much water as possible.

Peel and slice the onion. Try to keep the thickness almost the same as the bitter gourd. Slit the green chilli.  Heat oil in a wok. When oil starts shimmering, add the green chilli and stir for a minute. Be careful, the chilli may splutter. Add the onion and bitter gourd and keep stirring over high heat till all extra water evaporates. In between, you can keep the vegetables away from the water in the middle of the wok if you want it less mushy. Add salt and spices and stir to mix. Serve with rice.