Karela: my new favorite vegetable and minimalist way to prepare

Comfort food at its best - arhar dal, rice and karela! All leftovers enjoyed for a quick lunch.

I was talking to my sister in India and she mentioned she had prepared Karela (करेला ) that day. Karela is a summer season vegetable and since this is the beginning of the summer in India, my sister told me that fresh karela was available in the market. I could picture tender green karela piled up in the vegetable markets in India. As I talked to her more, I started to crave karela and wanted to make it. Lucky for me, I had bought karela just few days ago at the Indian store. I could hardly wait to make it.

I would not have had this reaction 20 years ago. As a kid, I thought of karela as a bitter vegetable grownups ate just because of its health benefits (and it is an impressive list, read here to get a sense). As I got interested in cooking, I was definitely fascinated by the elaborate steps, time and care my mother and others took to prepare and I wanted to learn to make it but I was not mentally ready to like it. Everything changed, when my mother offered 'bharwan karela' (stuffed karela) on a poori (small, round, puffy fried bread) while driving from Agra to Delhi on a hot summer day. Depth and complexity of flavors is hard to describe in words but I understood why so many people like karela.

While preparing karela whole and stuffed is the crown jewel way of preparing karela, here I have used the minimalist way which cuts the time and effort not the flavors.

Ingredients

5 medium size karela
salt (2 tsp for salting + 1/2 to 1 tsp)
2-3 shallots, sliced or chopped
3 tbsp mustard oil
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp ground fennel seeds
1 tbsp ground coriander powder
1 - 2 tbsp amchoor powder

Steps to make it

1. Slice karela in round slices, sprinkle 2 tea spoon salt evenly and let it sit for 30 minutes to an hour in a seive. Rinse in cold water and dry.
2. Heat mustard oil in a heavy bottom wok or skillet on medium heat.
3. Add fenugreek seeds and let it sizzle for few minutes. Add onions and fry on medium heat till edges are slightly brown
4. Add karela, dry masala, stir well and cover the wok.
5. Let karela cook on medium heat slowly for another 30 -45 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes or so. Add 1 or 2 tea spoon of water if karela seems dry.
6. Adjust salt, amchoor powder to taste.

Lentils, karela, yogurt with roasted cumin, kala namak & rice