“Stuff bitter gourd (karela) with mustard paste (dadi maa style)” is a cherished home-style recipe passed down from my mother-in-law. When I first tasted this dish, it offering a burst of flavour with each bite. Its versatility allowed me to enjoy it with Roti or Rice. I was so captivated by its bold and unique flavours that I started including it in every meal—whether it was breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
This traditional dish features tender bitter gourds stuffed with a flavourful mustard paste, which imparts a bold, pungent flavour that perfectly complements the natural bitterness of the gourd. The stuffing is carefully prepared with mustard seeds, spices, and a touch of tangy raw mango, creating a rich and aromatic filling.
Every time when she visited us I was requesting my mother-in-law to cook it again. Her expertise in preparing this dish made it even more special.
Now, I feel incredibly lucky to be able to share this treasured recipe with others, passing on the flavours and memories that make it such a beloved part of our family’s meals. It’s a recipe that holds a special place in my heart, and I hope it brings as much joy to others as it has to me.
Ingredients:
- Karela (bitter gourd):500 gm
- Rice powder: 4 tablespoon
- Salt: 1 teaspoon
- Oil (mustard oil): 100gm
For stuffing:
- Mustard seed: 30 gm
- Ajwain: 1 teaspoon
- Dry red chilli: 4 no.
- Whole coriander: 30 gm
- Onion: 3 (medium sizes)
- Garlic: 4 big flakes
- Ginger: 2 inch piece
- Raw mango: 2 small sizes
- Turmeric powder: 1 tablespoon
- Salt: 1 teaspoon
- Oil: 5 tablespoon
Preparation:
- Trim the both ends of karela. And carefully make slit on one side. That is longitudinally.
- Take out all seeds of karela. Keep aside.
For stuffing:
- Slice onion, raw mango, ginger and garlic roughly.
- Put mustard seed, ajwain, red chilli, and pinch of salt and grind them together.
- Add coriander and grind to fine powder.
- Then add cut onion, mango, ginger, garlic and water, grind to make fine paste.
- Wet Masala paste is ready.
Method:
Boil the karela. Keep aside.
- Take a non stick fry pan. Put 4 tablespoon of oil, when smoke starts coming, lower the flame, add pinch of turmeric powder and add wet masala.
- Increase the flame. Fry this masala till it become thick , add salt and turmeric powder, Stir continuously, it should not stick into the bottom.
- Fry about 4-5 minutes. Now stuffing is ready keep aside.
For making karela:
- Take big mixing bowl put rice flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder and half teaspoon chili powder.
- Make thick batter with the help of water. Keep aside.
- Take boil karela and stuff full with stuffing.
- Dip this karela into batter all around properly.
- Take fry pan; put oil in it, when smoke starts coming, put karela dipped in batter into it.
- Deep fry the karela, when light brown color comes, take it out.
- Repeat this with all karela.
- Now traditional bharwa (stuffing) karela is ready.
- cut it into small pieces with knife. And serve as side dish.
Stuff bitter gourd (karela) with mustard paste (dadi maa style) by Nag Ratna Sahu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.