Winter Rant

Karelā or Bitter Gourd makes for a great vegetable that you can steam cook or pan fry.

This post is less about the recipe and more about the vegetable: Karelā or Bitter Gourd. This vegetable has a bitter taste that you need to acquire a taste for. But once you do, it is a fantastic source of nutrients and health. Many make juices out of Karelā (Bitter Gourd). But today, we will take a quick look at how to steam cook this vegetable.

In fact, if you have taken a read of my Steam Cooked Green Beans post (link below), then this post is almost unnecessary. It is just a matter of substituting the green beans for the bitter gourd or karelā, and its the same recepie.

View at Medium.com

But I will call out the steps again for easy/ready reference. But if you have already read that, then skip to the section called “Steaming vs. Frying.” I call out some important ideas about how to cook this vegetables — esp. to reduce the bitterness (and nutrients).

The “Steam in the Pan” cooking method

Step 1: Chop the Karelā/Bitter Gourd into small bits

This is important. Chopping up the karelā/bitter gourd exposes more of the vegetable to the heat (in the pan) and spices. In the picture below, I show how I cut the individual gourds into halves. And then, I cut each half into smaller, finer pieces.

Step 2: Spice the chopped karelā/bitter gourd

This ensures that the karelā is spiced evenly. Here’s what I do:

1. I transfer the chopped beans into a box with a lid. Even a large bowl and a spatula to mix will also do.
2. I sprinkle in the spices as lightly or generously as I like. I usually add turmeric and red chili powder. Oh! and salt! Remember to add salt.
3. I also splash some olive oil. But very little — really for flavor.
4. I put on the lid and shake it up — vigorously. This ensures that the spices and oil coat the vegetable even before they hit the frying pan. If a spatula, mix the oil and spices with the vegetable pieces really well.

Step 3: Steam cook the spiced karelā in a frying pan

Before transferring the spiced vegetable into the frying pan, I keep aside a small (stainless steel) cup of water ready. I will later put this cup in the pan for the cook — after adding the karelā to the pan. This cup of water is the key to the whole thing!

Now, I put on a frying pan on the stove at medium heat. I add some olive oil to it and add some mustard seeds and cumin (these are for flavor). The heat will cause the mustard seeds to start crackling (check out the video on the side). That is my cue to transfer the karelā into the pan. As soon as I do that, I reduce the stove’s heat to low.

Now that the box — in which I did all the spice shaking — is empty, I pour about half a cup of water to rinse off the spices. I then pour that spicy water into the pan with the vegetable, and mix it all together. This will also ensure that the karelā does not start burning up with the heat.

At this stage, the karelā has been in the pan for about 2–3 minutes. Now, I put in the cup of water right in the middle of the frying pan (the post on green beans for reference) & close the lid. I let it cook on low heat for about 15–20 mins.

Just like with the green beans, it can take a little longer than 20 mins to cook, so I keep checking-in every 10 mins. The key indicator that the cook is nearing completion is when the pieces of the bitter gourd just start to loose color.

Take a look at the picture below.

Notice how the pieces of the karelā/gourd are still green. They have not turned brown or black — which can happen when you stir fry it instead of steam cooking.

The Tamarind Concentrate: In addition to the spices and oil, I occasionally add some tamarind concentrate right towards the end of the steam-cook. But that is entirely for added flavor, and it is optional. If you decide to add it, then add very little of it (tamarind can be an overpowering flavor), and mix it well while the dish is still on the hot stove.

Steaming vs. Frying

If you want, you can stir fry the bitter gourd. But it is worth remembering: bitter gourds have a lot of natural water in them. So even when stir frying, you can really just put a lid on the pan every so often and just let the vegetable cooks in its own steam — which literally emerges out of the vegetable itself.

Stir frying has one clean upside: it reduces the bitterness of the final dish. But along with the bitterness, it also burns up most of the nutrient that karelā is rich in! Also: the dish looks a lot richer and feel sumptuous when steam cooked. Below, look at the side-by-side comparison of the fried vs. steamed version of the dish.

The steamed version just looks better, and once you have acquired the taste, it will taste a lot better too!

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Well, that was the second edition of the Pan Dish series (a sequel is enough to make anything a series?). Next, we will look at a pan-fried dish that should not be cooked with steam, but on an open flame. 🥘

In the meanwhile, hope you enjoy your karelā and green beans, all nice and steamy! ♨️ I typically like mine with a bowl of rice!