Crispy Karela

This version of karela fry does not taste bitter, and needs very less amount of oil to cook. Goes very well as a side dish when served with Sambar/Rasam. Even tastes good with hot white rice alone. For making this dish we need to squeeze out little juice from karela.....i know that the juice is very important in health point of view, but to avoid deep frying and to get crispness, i made karela little dry. Earlier i used to sun dry karela pieces for 30 min., but here in US as i cant make them sun dry, squeezing out some juice.

Ingredients:

Karela/ Bitter Gourd – 2 medium size

Salt – to taste

Turmeric – ¼ tsp

Oil – 2 tsp

Red Chilli Powder – to taste.

Coriander powder – ¼ tsp (optional)

Cumin powder – ¼ tsp (optional)

Garam masala – ¼ tsp (optional)

Procedure:

Wash and clean Bitter gourd. Slightly peel off the skin and cut them into thin round slices.

Put them in a bowl; add ½ tsp of salt, ¼ tsp of turmeric, gently mix well with your hand.

 

Now wrap them in a paper towel and let them rest for 30 min.

Now open the paper towel, squeeze them little (optional), arrange them in a plate and leave it for another 10-15min.

 

Now take very wide pan/cooking vessel, add oil, when it is hot enough add karela.

Let it cook on low-medium flame for 15-20 min.  Check them in between, and fry them nicely.

When karela is turning brown, add dry spices (you can add your own combination of coriander, cumin, red chilli powders, or even garam masala, but here I added only red chilli powder). Adjust salt, red chilli powder.

Serve Hot with white rice. Or even you can eat them just like chips.