Saturday, September 25, 2010

KARELA ONION FRY WITH METHI AND RED CHILI SEASONING ,(Bitter Gourd and onion fry)

Karela ( bitter gourd) and egg plant are the few vegetables I love to eat . This dish I had to cook today to please a semi-foe . ( In my previous blog, I had said I had 4 types of foodie or cookie friends, they are friends, semi friends, semi foes and foes. ( I am not giving the classification criteria here,,,but all my blog-foodie friends have one classification..they are friends only because, no matter what I cook, they always end up with saying , drooling, awesome , cant wait to eat etc etc ) 
Coming to eating Karela, I recall, when my elder daughter was 2 years old, she used to eat peeled raw karela ( like Cucumber  salad) with salt, pepper and green chilis, with eyes and nose running...when she would finish, she would throw a big tantrum demanding more...But when she started going to school , she gave up eating Karela because she learnt from her classmates, that bitter was bad ( obviously learnt from parents that any thing bitter was bad). So that was end of her raw Karela eating , but she loves crisp fried Karela rings, with hot rice , salt, ghee and green chilis smashed into it. The point here is , God did not tell us ( or coded it into our brain)  that  sweet or sour was good, bitter was bad taste. We learnt it from others..The perception of taste or all perceptions like feel, smell, sound , sight etc ( the Indriyas)  is given by God. We define good or bad as the society guides us.... 
THE RECIPE
It is just a simple Karela and onion fry with a tempering of fenugreek and red dry chili. Only difference is, the Karela is added before.
INGREDIENTS
Karela ( bitter gourd) 300 gms ( about 5 medium ones) 
Onion 2 
red dry chili 3 broken
Fenugreek seeds 3/4 tsp 
turmeric 3/4 tsp level
Oil 2 tbsp


PROCESS
Wash and cut the Karela to 25 X 6-8 mm  pieces. ( Cut the Karela into 25 mm cylinders and take out long slices, with part of the white flesh,  leaving the core and the seeds. ( no need to scrap or peel).
Wash with water, drain and salt, keep aside for 15 minutes. Squeeze the Karela and take out. ( Salting and washing doesn't reduce the bitterness)
Slice onion and keep aside.
Heat oil and give seasoning of fenugreek and red chili, When the seeds change color, add the bitter gourd .
Keep frying the karela, until some pieces become brown and the volume is reduced to half.
Add the onion and turmeric . ( If you love chili HOT, add red chili powder) 
Stir fry and add 4  tbsp water, mix, lower flame to minimum and cover.
When the water is gone , add green chilis and stir fry on high heat.
Take a bite and adjust salt. When the ingredients are fried and become brown reduce heat to minimum, stick the material to the wall of the Kadhai and allow the oil to drain to the center. ( Do this if you are a health freak and believe that oil fattens and the rice and wheat ( carbohydrates) do not ). Or let the oil mix with the dish. 
Remove form the Kadhai, eat with hot rice or roti....


The Himalayan Blog
I have posted few photos and words at my Indian Himalayan Blog, have a look, you may like it.
http://ughosh.blogspot.com/2010/09/sheraghat-on-saraju-river-like.html

42 comments:

Sayantani Mahapatra Mudi said...

ajkal ato chap jache akdom blog hop kara hayna. eije akhono ami apnar post porchi choto amamr hat dhore jhulche...seo computer chalabe. amar chhana khub bhalobase uchhe bhaja khete. tabe oi je bolechen school gele ki shikhbe ki jani? amar didi'r chele schoole gie sikhe eseche alu chara kono sobji khete nei...ogulor taste kharap. kije se jhamela kare ajkal sobzi khete ki bolbo.
ei dishta banai ni kakhano. rojkar rannateo kato notunotto shekha jay blog korle. oi tel ber kore debar idea ta bhalo ami alu bhajle kori.

Jaisy James said...

this is one of my favourite. looks delicious

PreeOccupied said...

P will like this karela, Kaku. Why do all men like karela, it beats me.

Satrupa said...

Dear Ushnish Bhai,

J is a big time Karela eater. He can have it for b'fast, lunch and dinner. Where as I dread by the name of karela.I usually dip it in besan and deep fry it to please my taste buds.J is not very pleased with that version .. But I am sure he will love your recipe of frying with onions.

How is your Puja Preparation going on ?

Take care ......

Cheers n Happy Cooking,
Satrupa
http://satrupa-foodforthought.blogspot.com

sangeeta said...

Agree with the perception of taste or any other senses for that matter.
I like karela n make one such bhujia , as we call it ... even i like a karela mash ...as you would call a sheddho . Husband is a karela hater n dunno if he learnt to hate karela after school...:)

Unknown said...

Though am not the fan of karela your looks inviting!

Unknown said...

Hi,

Lovely presentation...

Dr.Sameena@

www.myeasytocookrecipes.blogspot.com

Sushma Mallya said...

i have never used bittergourd this way, i usually fry it but this sounds even more better and looks delicious too..

Nandinis food said...

I don't squeeze the juice out of the notorious bitties. If I did, then he would never eat them at all. Reason? B'cuz this is not how karela is s'posed to be eaten. Without fennel seeds and garlic, it's hard to ingest the karela. Anyway, I'll try your bitter gourd dish when I have time.

Akila said...

looks so lovely...

Gouri Guha said...

Ushnishda, shotti bolbo, aami karela ekdom bhalobashina, kintu barite karela bhaja kori... regularly noi.
When I was a child karela bhaja was a regular dish and I used to hide the karela pieces under a handful of rice and then manage to throw it away.
and now I cover the karela bhaja pieces with lots of rice and gulp it down...otherwise my children will not eat it.
Never added onions for in my 'Baper Badi' it was always a simple fry with aloo or begun or was there in the shukto. There used to be karela sheddho...only for Baba and Ma.
So your Pujo preparation must be going on, isn't it? Only a few days and by now you must be facing the trouble of the CWGames in your area too.

Nandinis food said...

Delicious karela fry. I've already posted the karela dish I've mentioned in my previous comment. But you may not like it. I like all your fish dishes!

Anonymous said...

Ushnish Da,
This is the exact way my mother in law makes karela...simple and easy.I minimal use of spices etc are really the secret to keeping the taste of the vegetable intact.
Regarding perceptions..I think its best to say ..to each its own..I just love your recipe...and as I have said before...u are my bible.
BTW, I am glad to know that you stay in Noida...my mom's house in Mayur Vihar ,phase-1, delhi. So, we stay close by :)

Fathima said...

loved that story aby how ur 2 yrs old ate karela... and that was a great moral too...:-) Karela onion fry looks good.... this prep would def take away the bitter taste of karela... again as u said it is all abt perceptions!

Unknown said...

karela amar khub priyo amar bor ero...kintu mukheo nayna....uchhe r shathe peyanj er combination ta amar kachhe akdom notun...amar dharona chhilo uchhe akdom puropuri bhabe niraneshi bhabe ranna hoe....tobe apnar dish dekhe mone hoechhe tasty hobe...amader barite roj uchhe hoe....aloo diye bajha noetochlar daler bora diye....majhe majhe modhye shukto kori...tobe kom .....karon otate ektu beshi katte hoe bole...:)

Unknown said...

never tried karela this way..sounds great ushnishda..my hubby is a great of karela..will try this for him.:)

Ria Mathew said...

I am a big fan of anything cooked with Karela.

Thank you for dropping by my blog :) I usually try to make things from scratch... :-D

If you are using Lamb, the cooking time for the meat may vary, so please keep that in mind. Let me know how you like it :D Thanks!

aipi said...

I just love this karela dish with some plain hot steamed rice and daal..I make it exactly the same way.. hubby never liked it before but looks like he now is getting the acquired taste..good for me as I now get to make it more often :)

BTW,Thanks for the detailed reply to sayantani's query, I couldn't have explained it better myself. Your thermometer story is funny..i have one too, hardly ever use it besides hubby always reminding (read:nagging) me to :).I am from Jamshedpur (I have a feeling you know where that is). It also explains the Bong influence on my cooking!

Take care
Aipi
US Masala

Madhu said...

I love this dish! One question though; will the green chilies be too raw because we are not adding them in the beginning?

Padmajha said...

Same pinch Ushnish.We too love karela and eggplants.This method of preparing kerala curry is new to me.Am definitely gona try it n let u know how it turned out :)

Jaya M said...

Ushnish da,

Apnar comment e onek mon'er jor pelaam ..
"Korola" reminds me a famous Hindi Film scene in Chupke-2 where Amitabh is trying to teach Botany To Jaya Bhaduri and the way he pronounced "Korola" is way too funny..sorry for going off-topic but seriously I too like frying korola with onions..here I do get frozen and cut korola but that taste is perhaps missing
regards
Jayashree

Amritha Kalyani said...

Sharing an award with you :-) http://eatvegetarianbehealthy.blogspot.com/2010/09/another-award.html

Amritha Kalyani said...

Sharing an award with you :-)
http://eatvegetarianbehealthy.blogspot.com/2010/09/another-award.html

Hamaree Rasoi said...

Timely post korte parlam na comment ei post er jonne...Bari bhorti relative (as I told u)...Anyway it's never too late ...
Ekdom shotyi kotha bollen ki God didn't tell us what is sweet or bitter...amar cheley kichu tei sabji mukhe dite chayena..have to play many tricks with him to feed veggies :-)
Was amazed to hear ki Didi kacha korola khey nito !!!!
Ei karela fry ta ami gorom bhat diye khete khoob pochondo kori...

Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi

Padhu Sankar said...

I too prepare bitter gourd in a similar manner but add onions first .I love this with hot rice.

Vikis Kitchen said...

Hi Ushnish ji, My mom too would recommend adding onion after frying the bittergourd. seen that long ago. The moral of the story is nice. I don't know why, but I too hate karela except for the crispies:) ...okra and this bg needs real skill to make any one like them. Hubby always likes this bg:(
Your preparation seems so nice. Like the way you add green chillies in many dishes. I will definitely try for my hubby.

veena said...

Hi Ushnish
karela has never been my favourite but your dish looks so inviting, am trying this tomoro

Devasena Hariharan said...

Interesting one, u add onions after adding bitter gourd..

By the way, u add too many chillies, wont it be too hot

Ushnish Ghosh said...

Dear friends
Thank you so much for responding to a dish , which is much hated due to bitter taste ( I mean not the flavor , taste means sweet, sour, salt and bitter or close to that, and bitter is the least liked among 4 tastes that God has given ( wont say most hated).
Let me respond to few comments which are related to this dish

..Men start liking Karela after marriage to synchronize with the after marriage situation...ha ha , Jokes apart , women like Karela more than men generally..

I used some green chili at the end, because I eat extra hot food....but normally add with the onion.

adding onion....If you like the Karela as green then you can add onion first.But if you try to fry out karela with onion added 1st, you get burnt onion....and fried Karela. Viki's mom adds onion later...most probably for the same reason..frying Karela takes the bitter sting out of it and releases the aroma of fried Karela.

I eat boiled Karela with onion and Podi mixed into it ...( lot of green chili too)
At the end of the day, if you are a non vege and you like Karela try Karela chicken Kebab in my blog

I feel good that a Karela dish had so much response
Bon appetito

Urmi said...

Karelar fry amar bhoshon pochhondo. Ghee bhat diye karela bhaja r shathe muger daal holepor r kichhu lagena.Darun baniyechhen r dekhei ichhe korchhe kheyeni.

Arti said...

Food for thought as well as food for pleasing the senses...
Got it both here... Thanks:)

Alessandra said...

Uh, this looks really hot, maybe I would not add the red chilli powder for myself :-)

Didi you go to Italy?

ciao
Alessandra

Shanthi Krishnakumar said...

Wonderful stir fry adn sure would have tasted good
http://shanthisthaligai.blogspot.com/

FoodLovers said...

Hi Ushnish ,
Hope ur doing great ...
Karela yum curry!!
Hw is everything going on at ur end ...

Susmita Biswas said...

eta ki satyi je korla aar lau(green
pumpkin)combination dangerous. Jodi janene tahole bhalo hoi.apnake e-mail korchhi sambhab hole uttar korben.

Susmita Biswas said...

eta ki satyi je korla aar lau(green
pumpkin)combination dangerous. Jodi janene tahole bhalo hoi.apnake e-mail korchhi sambhab hole uttar korben.

Gauri Gharpure said...

such an interesting lesson about taste, and behaviour in general.. and the recipe is nice, will let you know when i try it. btw, inspired by you, I have started using whole green chillies liberally while cooking these days:)

Indrani said...

Ushnishda,
sorry, aajkal ekdom time pai na blog hop karar..apnar kono post o aseni anek din dhare aar apnar comments o paini amar post e .sab thik ache to? May eb u r busy with something...your comments make me very happy u know..karela fryer recipe ta darun..try korbo soon..happy durga puja to u and ur family..bhalo tahkben

Padmajha said...

Hi Ushnish!As promised I tried this recipe last weekend and it was a hit.We loved it.I made it on the spicier side coz my family loves it that way.Steamed rice,ghee and this curry tasted awesome.Will be posting it in my blog shortly.Thanks for the wonderful recipe.Btw,I liked that joke about men liking bittergourd after the marriage!!Good one ;)

Priya dharshini said...

I have tried this recipe ,since we luv this veggie...Awesome dish

Oriyarasoi said...

nice one....will definitely try it...have got bored eating the fried in mustard variety or the karela chips!!!

Udan Tashtari said...

I cook exactly like this but always add a pinch of Amchoor.

Thanks for the recipe.