Rajasthani Special: Must Try This Stuffed Karela Recipe Over Lunch

You must have heard a lot about Rajasthani food, from dal bati churma to gatte ki khichdi, Rajasthani kadhi, churma ladoo, bajra roti, mawa kachori and many more. But have you ever tried Rajasthani stuffed bitter gourd? If not, then we would say that you have missed a lot. Do you know that Rajasthani bharwa karela is specially cooked in an iron skillet to enhance the taste? Here's the complete recipe, along with its benefits.

Ingredients

• Amchur - 1 tsp or raw mango paste 
• Cumin - one teaspoon roasted 
• Red chilli and salt - 1 tsp 
• Besan and oil - 2 tsp 
• Asafoetida - 1 pinch 
• Onion - 2 grated 
• Coriander - 1 tsp 
• Turmeric - 1 tsp 
• Bitter gourd - 6 
• Fennel - 1 tsp

Method

Cleaning

1. To make Rajasthani Stuffed Bitter gourd, wash and peel the bitter gourd thoroughly. 
2. Now cut the bitter gourd from top to bottom and take out the seeds. 
3. Apply salt on the bitter gourd and leave it for 2-3 hours (this removes the bitterness of bitter gourd). 

Stuffing of karela/bitter gourd 

1. Now the ingredients kept above for filling in bitter gourd have to be cooked in an iron skillet. 
2. Keep an iron skillet on the gas to heat up. Add two spoons of oil and heat it. Now reduce the flame to low, add onion paste, and keep stirring until it turns brown. 
3. Add turmeric, coriander, asafoetida, cumin, fennel, red chilli and salt to it. Cook this mixture well on the gas for a while. 
4. When the spices are cooked, add gram flour to it and fry it for a while. Put the mango at last and turn off the gas after 1 minute. 
5. When the bitter gourd cools down, fill it with spices. But before that, keep in mind to appropriately squeeze out the water left by the bitter gourd with salt to reduce bitterness. 
6. After filling the masala in bitter gourd, tie it with a thread.

Frying

1. To fry Rajasthani stuffed bitter gourd, heat oil in an iron pan and put all the bitter gourds in it one by one. 
2. Now let the bitter gourds cook on low flame for a while. When the bitter gourds are cooked from one side, flip them in the pan and cook them from the other side until they become crisp. 
3. Bitter gourd has to be cooked in an iron skillet on low flame. When the bitter gourd turns brown means, they are ready. 
4. Spicy Rajasthani stuffed bitter gourds are ready to be devoured.

Benefits Of Cooking In An Iron Skillet

Bitter gourd is an antioxidant-rich in vitamins containing beta-carotene and carotene that purifies the blood. As per experts, if children are fed food cooked in an iron pan continuously for four months, their haemoglobin may increase.