KARELA ... anyone know what to do with it?

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emmalzthompson
emmalzthompson Posts: 275
in Food and Nutrition
Picked one up today in my supermarket, never seen one or heard of it before. i have googled it and it has some great health benefits, but all recipes are Indian based. I dislike Indian food. Anyone else know what to do with it, so that it tastes good?

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  • jen_zz
    jen_zz Posts: 1,011 Member
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    Are they the same as those Chinese bitter melons? If they are, the Cantonese like to stir fry them with some black bean sauce with some spare ribs.
  • Susuwatari
    Susuwatari Posts: 8 Member
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    They look like Chinese bitter melons and so from my mom's cooking (Chinese cooking)
    Boil it and then let it chilled and eat
    or cook it as soup broth
    Cut them into ring like and stuff meat in the middle and steam it

    Though I can't tell you which one is good cause I dislike them ^^;
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
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    bitter melon?...use it for Halloween decoration :laugh:
    images?q=tbn:ANd9GcREpIdJnidVXJVS2o3PAmRvG_w7-hs_jorYVYetLETWs5iT3ckm

    I'm not a fan but my mom curries it. It's an acquired taste :indifferent:
  • emmalzthompson
    emmalzthompson Posts: 275
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    Great thanks all, so the general opinion is its not nice ! lol. i will give it a go anyway :)
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
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    Good luck with it. My mom keeps trying to get me to eat it because it's reported to lower blood sugar. I tried the capsules but it didn't do anything for me.

    I bought the juice in an Indian market a couple of weeks ago, I could barely keep the tonic down :embarassed:

    It was the most foul thing I'd ever choked down :grumble: The whole family had a good laugh on me, I was not amused and thought them terribly mean. :huh: :blushing:
  • 1longroad
    1longroad Posts: 642 Member
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    You can take one letter away and you will have my name. lol
  • jen_zz
    jen_zz Posts: 1,011 Member
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    I must say they are pretty healthy though.. lots of fiber and very low cal. Where I live there are some fresh juicing shop that does this "5 treasures" drink which is juicing together apple, cucumber, celery, kale and KARELA.

    So the drink tasted... umm healthy.
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
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    I must say they are pretty healthy though.. lots of fiber and very low cal. Where I live there are some fresh juicing shop that does this "5 treasures" drink which is juicing together apple, cucumber, celery, kale and KARELA.

    So the drink tasted... umm healthy.

    That sounds like an excellent combination to compliment karela. It's definitely an acquired taste as only the old timers in my family will eat it. An older family member used to make stuffed karela, it was pickled (I think) and stuffed with kuchela (green mango & amchar massala).

    THAT was good, but probably because of the kuchela vs the karela :laugh: amchar makes everything better :blushing:
  • happyhiker83
    happyhiker83 Posts: 19
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    It's also used in Okinawan cooking, where it's called "goya." Try making a goya champuru: slice the goya into thin half-moons, soak in salt water for 15-30 minutes to cut some of the bitterness, then stir-fry with pork or Spam, soft tofu, and scrambled egg.

    Some people don't like the bitterness of goya, but once you acquire a taste for it, it's really nice.
  • elsyoommen
    elsyoommen Posts: 155 Member
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    I know you said that you don't like indian food, but I'm not sure what indian foods you mean I assume that you do not like thick curries with heavy sauces? The way I have karela is to stir-fry it with green plaintain - this is a traditional way of making it from south india:

    1. dice the karela - when you do this first cut it lengthwise and remove all the middle part (white pith and seeds)- this is the most bitter part, then dice the rest.

    2. dice the green plaintain (keep most of the peel).

    3. boil them both (separately) for about 5-10 minutes and drain them both.

    4.now in a kadai/wok/skillet fry some onions in some oil (you can add chilies, garlic, mustard seeds etc as you wish) with some salt (and any spices you like) (for me I use mustard seeds, 1 dried red chile, some curry leaves and mustard seeds and turmeric but you don't need to)

    5.after a few minutes once the onions are starting to get golden brown add the drained plaintain and karela. give it a stir over medium heat for a while - maybe 5-10 minutes. then turn off the stove and cover while you get your other dishes ready. I like to have this with some fish.

    The bitterness is a nice counterpoint once you develop a taste for it. By parboiling it and using the plaintain and onions you get a nice flavour profile.
  • elsyoommen
    elsyoommen Posts: 155 Member
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    My mom also used to make "chips" out of this. I watched the process and ate the results many times, but I have not made it this way myself:

    cut Karela lengthwise. Discard seeds and pith. slice into thin half moons. lay them out on kitchen towels to dry out a bit. deep fry. toss with salt.

    we used to have this kind of as a crunchy side dish to add texture to a meal.

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