Rasedar Bharwan Karela: Stuffed Bitter Gourds in Sauce

And the third recipe..
Rasedar Bharwan Karela

Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 Medium Onion

2 -garlic cloves lightly crushed

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/4 tsp chilli powder

1/4 tsp coriander powder

1/4 cup finely chopped tomatoes

Chopped fresh coriander for garnish

1/2 Cup hot water

Salt

Oil

Bharwan Karela stuffing for Garnish

Tried two different sauces by texture keeping the cooking process and ingredients same.

Chunky Sauce: Heat Oil and saute the finely chopped onions and garlic until soft, add the finely chopped tomatoes and fry/bhunao until the moisture evaporates,

Add the spice powders and fry some more,

Add the hot water and bring up to a boil and simmer for 8-10 minutes.

Pour over the Bharwan Karela and garnish with 1 tsp of Bharwan Karela Stuffing and finely chopped corainder.

Smooth Sauce:  Heat oil and saute the onions and garlic until soft,

add the finely chopped tomatoes and fry until most of the moisture evaporates,

Add the spice mixtures  and saute for a couple of minutes,

Grind to a smooth paste,

Pour back into the pan, using 1/4 cup of  hot water to wash out the mixer bowl and adding it to the sauce.

Bring to a gentle boil and simmer for 5-8  minutes,

Pour over Bharwan Karela   and garnish with finely chopped coriander.

Notes: Kept the spice mixture in the sauce mild to enhance the flavours of the stuffing inside the Karela/Bitter gourd.

Stuffed Bitter Gourd...Bharwan Karela

This is a tweaked up recipe from the original,   courtesy G's MIL; and thanks to G who generously shared  the recipe! The roots are Bihar, bordering Bengal! It is laborious but well worth the effort  and  as moi started going through the recipe and realized that it can be 3 separate dishes from one !

Ingredients

6-Small to medium sized Bitter Gourds

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Salt

For the Filling

3- garlic cloves, crushed

1/3 Cup Channa dal

1/2 Medium onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp- coriander powder

1/4 tsp cumin powder

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

2 tbsps finely chopped de-seeded tomatoes or 1/2 tsp tomato paste

Oil

Salt

2 tbsps finely chopped fresh coriander 

White Thread!

Method

Bitter Gourd: Scrape off the ridges from the bitter gourd and keep them aside,

Make a lengthwise slit and using a gentle hand, de-seed the bitter gourds.

Parboil /cook the bitter gourds in just enough water until done but firm, drain and keep aside.

Channa Dal: Pressure Cook the Channa Dal with salt, until done but not mushy; drain and keep aside.

Filling: Heat about 1 1/2 tbsps of oil in a pan,

Saute the onions and garlic until soft,

Add the bitter gourd scrapes and saute for a few minutes,

Add the turmeric, cumin, coriander and chilli powder.

Add the tomatoes and fry until the moisture evaporates,

Add the cooked Channa Dal and roast well, coarsely crushing part of the dal  to mix well with the onion-tomato mixture.

Dish No.1 Kayapakka Upperi/Bitter Gourd subzi

Stuffing  and Frying:
Using a spoon, gently stuff the bitter gourds, making sure that the seams close,
Tie several times over with thread.
The next step depends on whether you want to deep fry or shallow fry the stuffed bitter gourds.

Heat a kadai/wok or a pan. Pour enough oil for your method of frying. Fry until dark golden brown. Gently remove the threads. Serve as a dry dish garnished with finely chopped fresh corainder.

Dish No.2 Bharwan Karela

And the third recipe....?