Dhaage Waara Karela~AlifBe~19

I have been cooking food since last three decades or so. In all these years I have cooked for family, friends, relatives and even strangers.Have shared home made cakes, cookies, pickles, jams, curries, koki, snacks, Pulav and Biryanis with many of those whom I came across but none of these ever fetched me as many applauds as this humble, often uncherished, ignored and despised dish; stuffed bitter melons/bitter gourds! Of course this dish is on the menu only if I know that the person likes bitter gourds.
I know many who love to hate this bitter tasting vegetable but thankfully I am surrounded by many who simply adore Karele. My (late) mother would specially cook these for me and send in often and so does Ma, My MIl!

I feel amused when people ask me “Woh Dhaage waale karele kabh khila rahi ho?” It feels good to find a fellow karela lover in this world of karela haters!

Back To AlifBe:

The 19th letter of the AlifBe series is ڌ  in Arabic Sindhi, Dh~ in Roman and ध in Devanagari. Some words starting with this letter are Dharma, Dharamshala, Dholavira etc.

And yes,  Dh~aag^e waara karela ( Dhaage waale karele) or bitter melons stuffed and secured with threads, is the dish of the day, today!

In this Sindhi style stuffed bitter gourds, no besan or peanuts are generally added. But when these are cooked as a part of Shraadh meals or Satvik meals then Ma makes these using peanuts to bulk up the filling, skipping onions and garlic. Will soon share her recipe as well!

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Dhaage Waara Karela~AlifBe~19

Rating  5.0 from 1 reviews

Bittergourds stuffed with onions, garlic and spices, secured with threads and cooked till gourds are soft and stuffing is well caramelised.

Ingredients

• Bitter gourds 250 gm
• Onions 2 small
• Chillies 2
• Garlic 3 cloves
• Ginger 1 inch piece or less
• Coriander leaves ¼ cup
• Salt as per taste
• Turmeric powder ¾ tsp
• Coriander powder 1 heaped tsp
• Amchoor powder ½ tsp (optional)
• Asafoetida a pinch or so
• Oil 1 tbsp
• Clean white thread to tie the gourds

Method

1. Rinse gourds with water. You may or may not peel the gourds.
2. Slit gourds vertically from one end to another. You can scoop out seeds if you wish.
3. Rub each gourd with some salt and stuff some salt inside the gourds as well.
4. Keep aside for at least an hour.
5. Rinse salted gourds well with water and squeeze firmly. This process will reduce the bitterness of the gourds.
6. Now heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and add bitter gourds.
7. Cook on medium heat till bitter gourds change the color a bit.
8. Remove from oil.
9. Meanwhile make the stuffing. Peel and grate onions, pound chillies, ginger and garlic along with coriander leaves.
10. Add salt, turmeric powder, coriander powder, amchoor, if using and hing and mix everything well.
11. Stuff the bitter gourds with this stuffing and secure each by tying a piece of thread across each karela.
12. Heat the same pan (with oil) in which the bitter gourds were fried and place the stuffed gourds carefully.
13. Cook on high heat for a minute and then lower the flame, put a lid on the pan and place some heavy object over the lid. If there is any extra stuffing, mix it in before placing the lid.
14. Let the rest of cooking happen on slow flame.
15. Do give it a mix, intermittently and if needed, sprinkle some drops of water to avoid sticking of the gourds to the bottom of the pan.
16. Cook till bitter gourds are soft and the stuffing is cooked well (anywhere between 10-15 minutes).
17. This is often served as a side dish with dal and rice.

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