Stuffed Karela or Bharwan Karela Recipe - Learn How To Make Bharwan Karela

Bitter gourd or karela stuffed with black chick peas cooked in spices is an extremely healthy and tasty dish. Karela is one of the most bitter vegetable but has amazing health benifits like following:

1. Helps in maintaining blood sugar levels
2. Fights bad cholestrol
3. Stengthen your immune system
4. Good for eyes, skin and hair

Learn how to make this dish with step by step photos and detailed recipe given below:

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Recipe Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• Bitter Gourd (Karela) - 4 medium size
• Onion (pyaz) - 2 finely chopped
• Black Chickpeas (Kala chana) - 1 cup soaked in water
• Garlic petals (lehsun ki kali) - 6
• Salt as per taste
• Spices:
  • Turmeric Powder (haldi powder) - 1 big spoon
  • Cumin Seeds Powder (jeera powder) - 1/2 tea spoon
  • Black pepper powder (kali mirch powder) - 1/2 tea spoon
  • Red Chilli Powder (lal mirch powder) - 1/4 tea spoon
• Mustard Oil (sarson ka tel) - as per requirement for cooking the stuffed bitter gourd (karela)
• Water - as per requirment

Preparation:

1. Soak the bitter gourd (karela) in water for some time. Now wash them well with clean water and slightly peel them so that salt enters the bitter gourd (karela) easily while cooking. (Do not peel completely. The green color should be visible.) Slit the bitter gourd (karela) with a knife and remove the pulp and seeds from them. 
2. Wash the bitter gourd (karela) again and apply turmeric powder (haldi powder) and salt on them on all sides. Then keep them aside to rest for use in later steps.
3. In a mixer jar take mustard seeds (sarson) and garlic petals (lehsun ki kali) and grind them into a fine paste. Transfer this mustard paste to a plate and add other spices (haldi powder, jeera powder, kali mirch powder and lal mirch powder). Add a little water and mix all ingredients to form a fine masala paste.
4. Heat 1 table spoon oil in a kadhai, and add chopped onion (pyaz) and black chick peas (kala chana). Add a little salt and cover the kadhai with a lid to cook them for 3-4 minutes.
5. Then remove the lid and add 90% of the masala paste to the kadhai and mix well. Cook for some time till the maasla turns a little red. Then turn off the flame and the stuffing is now ready. (Keep the remaining paste aside for use in next step.)
6. Now first apply the remaining 10% masala paste on the inner and outer surface of the bitter gourd (karela). Then fill each of them with the black chick peas (kala chana) stuffing with the help of a spoon and tie with a thread (to hold the slitted sides of the karela together and prevent the stuffing from coming out while cooking). 
7. Heat a some oil on a non-stick pan or tawa. Now place the stuffed bitter gourd (karela) on the tawa to cook them. Flip them to the other side, lower the flame and cover the non-stick pan with a lid to cook the bitter gourd (karela) for some time.
8. Now remove the lid. Add more oil if needed and increase the flame to cook the bitter gourd (karela) till red and crisp on all sides. The bitter gourd (karela) will be cooked in 20-30 minutes. Poke a knife to check if the bitter gourd have become soft and then turn off the flame. The stuffed karela is now ready to be served hot in abeautiful dish along with chapatis and parathas.