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81 Comments

  1. Dear Dassana,
    I have followed your recipes for more than a year but never commented before. Love your website. I am from Punjab, Pakistani side. We are traditionally meat eaters. I wanted to find veg and lentil recipes and your recipes are fabulous!
    This karela recipe I tried for the first time today and hubby loved it! So thanks very much ????. I have a request. I have heard about a karela recipe where the peelings are added too. If you have a recipe for it, please share!4 stars

    1. dear ayesha, thank you for this lovely feedback. by the way, my in-laws are punjabis and were from lahore in pakistan. for the karela recipe, glad to know you and your hubby liked it. most welcome. i have heard about the peels added in stuffed karela, but i do not have this particular recipe. if i knew, i would have definitely shared it with you. thanks again.

  2. I made this dish yesterday. I forgot. That was using a nonstick pan and accidentally used more oil. To compensate, I added some Besan B4 adding aam chur and garam masala, so that it absorbs the excess oil. It turned to be a great addition. The slight bitterness in Besan added to the flavour of the roasted karela and the caramelised onion.5 stars

    1. thanks shruthi for this detailed comment and the rating. yes, besan tastes good in such dry vegetable dishes and gives a good flavor and taste. thanks for sharing.

  3. Tried this recipe today.A simple preparation with onions and a few spices..Was very tasty and did not feel the bitterness much.Loved it with phulkas.5 stars

    1. thanks winnie. hope you are doing fine. yes it is a simple sabzi. the sweetness of the caramelized onions takes away or balances whatever bitterness the bitter gourd has. yes this karela sabzi does taste goood with phulkas.

  4. Hi dassana .. am going to try this for dinner today.. and am sure it will turn good n best.. but I would like to share u that keeping karela in salt water is best avoid bitter taste but I do.somthing elz too I would like it.share after washing karela in salt keep in tamarind boiled water for 10 to 20 or u can bring to boil with tamarind in water this will.help reduce bitter taste.. hope u liked it thnx..4 stars

    1. thanks fazila for sharing this tamarind water tip. i had some notion regarding this tamarind water being used to get rid of bitterness, but had never tried. thanks for confirming. will definitely help the readers.

  5. Hi Dassana
    can u plz give me ur mail id??
    i need some recipes for my husband who has hypertension and diabetes.
    thanx

    1. shally i am not the right person for recipes focussing on these health conditions. its best to consult a dietitian. a dietitian can give a meal plan and also tell what ingredients are not suitable. its best to take professional advice regarding diabetes. i just have a basic knowledge which most people have about diabetes and hypertension and basic do’s and dont’s. my mother in law has diabetes but it is on borderline. so we do not include sugar in her tea and she does not have any sweets too. but otherwise she has regular indian meals of chapati, sabzi and dal. fresh fruits are also included in her diet. for any other recipe queries you can email me at vegrecipesofindia@gmail.com

  6. My sister hates karela… but today after having this karela sabzi, she actually praised me…. Thank you so much….. your blog is like a god gift for working woman who doesn’t have time to go outside and take cooking classes….5 stars

  7. Great recipe. Making as we speak. Usually I cook karela with onions on a low heat and covered. Excited to see how this turns out. Btw sometimes in my Tadka I add jeers, sauf and little kalonji. I like the taste it gives. 🙂

  8. Thank you Dasanna for sharing this recipe. The dish is so simple, can be made with minimum ingredients and yet is very tasty.5 stars

  9. I am diabetic with very high sugar levels I am anxious to get these down without being dependent on insulin

    1. apart from bitter gourd, i would suggest you to use fenugreek in your diet. either fresh fenugreek leaves (if you can get them where you live) or fenugreek seeds or powder. a bit added in your food will help. you will get a lot of info on google.

  10. thanks for the recipe..looks god my father used to eat lots of Karela for his blood pressure and other illlnesses

  11. We also cook in similar manner but we add fennel (Saunf) also to it..it tastes good..try..it should be grinded masala saunf, added to ur taste.

  12. Karela is not among my favorites, but tried this recipe out since we had it at home. It was good to try karela subji with a different taste!

  13. Hi
    i made the karaila but i used salt because i dont like the bitterness. Even after cooking they still taste a bit bitter is there anything we can do to reduce the bitterness even after cooking? (by the way i made keema karaila)

    1. after slicing or chopping the karela, mix with some salt and keep aside for 20-25 minutes. then squeeze the karela pieces with your hands and rinse the karela in water. this technique will remove some bitterness. if you make a vegetarian version, then in some recipes, especially in south indian, tamarind and jaggery is added and this does tone down the bitterness.

  14. swt hrt in the pictures u posted it is not karela or bitter gourd but it is parval that uve taken. cannot cook karela like that it has to be salted and taken off its bitterness or else u r going to keep tasting the bitterness for the rest of the week….. kindly check n make the corrections on ur illustrative site….ciao

    1. dear anshum

      i have made this karela recipe and for your information it is 100% karela/bitter gourd and not parval. observe more closely. can’t you see the karela seeds in the pics? do they look like parval seeds to you?

      and who has told you that the karela always has to be salted. in india we don’t get that bitter karela. and even on a personal front i prefer to have the bitterness in the karela. hence i have not added salt to the karela in this recipe.

      how can you make your own assumptions by not seeing or checking the information on the recipe properly? before mentioning anything like this just check the facts and pics on the recipe properly.

      i am actually amused by your weird comment. do you think i am a person who has lost her head and posting the pics of another vegetable. are you crazy or what?

      1. Hello Dassana,

        A small update – Karela seeds can be weeded out due to the reason that it contains toxic and to be avoided during pregnancy. Hope this info could be added.

        Warm Regards,
        Sayuj N

        1. thanks sayuj for the helpful info. will help a lot of us who don’t know about the toxic thing in the seeds.

          1. Specifically:
            Warnings – Red arils (covering on seed) are reportedly toxic in children, causing vomiting, diarrhea, and death.

            Contraindications – Bitter melon is contraindicated in pregnant women as it can induce bleeding, contractions, and abortion.

  15. I have ” tons ” of qulity karelas in my home ths season.will try this recipe. thanks.
    Sydney, Australia

  16. I love karela too and this karela has been a family favorite , we make it without peeling n with seeds.
    My husband doesn’t like karela n now i have experimented with this veggie so much so that he has at least started eating this….:) 🙂

    1. Thank you for this Karela recipe, I made it already many times and this is the only way I will make it. It’s easy, simple and very tasty.

        1. Hey Dassana Amazing recipe!! will definitely make it regularly but was wondering if I could presteam the karela for five minutes to cut down on the oil used? do you think it would work?
          On another note, since you live in Goa I wondered if you ever use the kokum butter that they sell in the markets for cooking. The locals all assured me about its health benefits. Do you know anything about it, I was hoping to make a vegan butter recipe that i found online that uses cocoa butter and use it for baking etc. I made raagi biscuits yesterday and the texture was pretty amazing and taste was also barely noticeable. I would love to know your thoughts on it for regular use, if its healthy safe etc. What struck me was its extremely high smoking point.

          1. hi karuna. yes you can pre steam the karela. i also steam them sometimes and then lightly saute in oil. i have heard of kokum butter, but i have not been able to find it in goa, at least where we lived. i hit ave heard, it can be used as a replacement for butter in cookies and sweets etc. since i have not used it, not sure how it works. you made ragi biscuits with cocoa butter? thats wow!!!