Kashmiri
Meetha Karela
- Duration:
- Serves: people
Authenticity Slice
To experience authentic meetha karela, make sure the stuffing is tightly packed with the dal mixture filling.
- 2190 views
- Share
Trivia Tadka
A delicious Kashmiri dish, meetha karela bursts with various flavours in every bite. It’s sweet, sour, slightly spicy and bitter in taste. The best part, it remains fresh for 1–2 days.
Ingredients
- Bitter gourd (karela) ( 10)
- MTR Haldi/Turmeric Powder (1 tsp)
- Salt (to taste)
- MTR Lal Mirch/Red Chili Powder (1 tsp)
- Green chili, finely chopped ( 1)
- Onion, finely chopped ( 10)
- Nigella seeds (kalonji) (1/2 tsp)
- Fenugreek seeds (methi dana) (1/4 tsp)
- Cumin seeds (jeera) (1/2 tsp)
- Fennel seeds (saunf) (2 tsp)
- Peppercorns (sabut kali mirch) (1/2 tsp)
- Cloves (laung) (5–6)
- Sugar (10 tsp)
- Mango powder (10 tsp)
- Ginger (adrak), grated ( 1 tbsp)
- Mint (pudina) leaves (1 bunch)
- Split Bengal gram (chana dal), soaked for 30 mins (1/2 cup)
- Mustard oil (sarson ka tel) (1 cup)
- Asafoetida (hing) (1/4 tsp)
Method
- Slightly crush fennel, cumin, peppercorns, fenugreek seeds and cloves one by one in a stone mortar and pestle. Set aside and do not mix them.
- Peel the karelas and slit them lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and pulp.
- Make a mixture of MTR Haldi/Turmeric Powder and salt and smear it over the karelas. Make sure to rub the mixture on the inside of the karelas as well.
- Set them aside in a tilted position, for 1–2 hrs, to enable the bitter juices from the karela to drain out.
- After 1–2 hrs, squeeze the karelas between your palms to drain the excess liquid.
- To prepare the filling, mix onion, spices (except hing), sugar and mint leaves in a bowl. Divide this mixture into two equal parts.
- Divide this mixture into two and in one-half of the mixture, add split Bengal gram (chana dal) and stir to combine in a separate bowl
- Now stuff the karelas with this dal mixture and seal the mouth with a thread or pierce with a toothpick so that it does not open while cooking.
- Heat mustard oil in a heavy-bottom pan over medium heat. Add hing followed by the other half of the onion mixture.
- Arrange stuffed karelas, neatly one by one, over the layer of onion.
- Cover the vessel with a tight fitting lid and cook on a low heat for at least 45 mins or till karela and dal are cooked through.
- The delicious meetha karela is ready! Serve it hot with garma garam chapatis.
