Bharwan Karela (Stuffed Bitter Gourd)

I have been making this particular dish since I was in high school. I had read it in some recipe book and tried it out. It was an instant hit!! Even people who detest karela liked it. So here it is....

Ingredients:

4-5 medium sized whole karela

1 medium onion chopped

1 tbspn besan (chick-pea flour)

1 tsp saunf (fennel seeds)

2 tsp amchur powder (dry mango powder)

1 tsp paprika/red chilli powder

1 tsp corriander seeds powder

1 tsp cumin powder

a pinch of turmeric

oil for shallow frying

salt to taste

Method:

Wash and trim the ends of the karela (bitter gourd). Make a slit in the middle of each for stuffing. Take a pressure cooker or a saucepan with lid and boil the karela's with salt and turmeric until just tender. Let it cool. For the stuffing, heat 1 tbspn of oil in a pan. Add fennel seeds. When the seeds starts to change colour add in the chopped onions. Fry till the onions are soft. Now reduce the flame to low and add all the powdered masala's. Fry for a minute. Now add the besan and salt to taste. Keep on stirring until it resembles a coarse mixture. Finally add the amchur powder and turn the heat off. Let the mixture cool.

Once the karela's are cooled down remove the seeds with the help of a spoon. Fill in the stuffing in the slits and secure/tie it with the help of thread/string to prevent filling from spilling out. Shallow fry the karela's in hot oil till they change colour. Done!!