Mince with Bitter Gourd (Qeema Karelay)

Bitter gourd - Karelay.. Don't be afraid of its name.. ppl mostly refrain from eating this veggie due to its bitter nature.. But I have introduced a method S5 - Scrape, Slice, Salt, Stand & Squeeze. to reduce the bitterness of bitter gourd - karela.. For details move on to the recipe:

Ingredients:

Bitter Gourd - Karelay                     1/4 kg
Minced Meat                                    1/4 kg (Chicken/Beef/Mutton)

Oil                                                     2 wooden spoon(doi)

Onions                                              2 medium sized

Tomato                                             2 medium sized

Green Chili                                       3 chopped

Garlic Ginger Paste                          1 tbsp.

Red Chili powder                             3/4 tsp.           

Turmeric Powder                             1/4 tsp.

Black Pepper                                     ¼ tsp.

Salt                                                    3/4 tsp.

Cumin Seeds (Zeera)                          ½ tsp.

Coriander Seeds                                 1/2 tsp
Lemon Juice                                       1 tbsp

Yogurt                                                1/4 cup
Onion Seed (Kilonji)                         1/2 tsp
Fennel Seeds (Saunf)                         1/2 tsp
Jaggery (Gur)                                     1/2 tbsp
Cinnamon Stick                                 1
Tamarind Juice                                  1/4 cup
Curry Leaves                                     1

Procedure:

First of all I will let u knw some steps u should follow to reduce the bitterness of bitter gourd - karelas.

I usually call it 5S - Scrape, Slice, Salt, Stand & Squeeze the karelaaaass!! :)

1. First step is to Scrape the uneven protruded surface with the help of a peeler or knife to get a smooth surface :)

2. Next, Slice the bitter gourd (karela) into circle shapes & remove the seeds from the center,as shown below!

3. Now, rub bitter gourd (karelas) properly with plenty of salt & set aside. Let it stand for 30 min - 1 hour before cooking. By the way I prefer keeping it for 3-4 hours to get more sweet veggiee! Salt extracts out the bitter juice from the slices. 

4. Next squeeze out the juice out of the bitter gourd/ karelas by pressing softly between the hands. Run under water & squeeze out again.

Now the bitter gourd is ready to be cookeddd!!

First of all, heat oil in a pan & deep fry the bitter gourd until golden brown :) Drain & set aside.

Now lets move to the other main ingredient of our recipe - Mince (Qeema)!!!!


U can use the same oil for everything- frying karelas & then making gravy :) Believe me the oil isn't bitter at all due to the 5S method we use :)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
So, heat oil in a pan, add the sliced onions until light brown. Now add minced meat. And fry for 5-10 minutes. Until the water with in it is all evaporated and mince leaves oil! Add garlic, ginger paste, tomatoes, green chili and cook for few minutes.I prefer more masala in this veggie so used more onion & tomatoes preferably :) Now add rest spices, tamarind juice & yogurt.  Fry for few more minutes. Cook & cook until all the water has dried & oil is released.

Next add fried bitter gourd. Mix and keep the lid covered for 15-20 min on very low flame. Add lemon juice. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with  chapati - rotis :)

I am going to write a post for Monu on Bitter gourd curry for Monu soon IA :) Stay tuned! Love!!


See the collection of Meat Eid ul Azha recipes : HERE

Thanku for stopping by! Hope u enjoy this recipe :)