Karela pakoda? Karela means bitter gourd in Hindi. Pakoda means a fries coated with a spicy batter. It is crispy, tasty and less bitter in taste. Many people do not like bitter gourd due to its bitter taste but here once you will try this karela pakoda then you may find different bitter gourd and may start liking bitter gourd too. So you do not need to keep a distance from the bitter gourd any more, ð rather you may start loving this. Hmmm!! Still not convinced? Then can’t help. ð If you find anything interesting here then you made my day. Haha!
It is definitely true that if you have so many other alternatives to eat then why bitter gourd? Hmmm, another relevant question but point is, if you have not tried this type karela pakoda before then you can try this. It is very easy to make and not so bitter as much you are thinking.
Let’s try karela pakoda
Tamarind pulp is used to absorb the bitter taste of bitter gourd (karela). Then you need to apply batter over bitter gourd slices. Here rice flour is added to make batter but you can use besan (chickpea flour) or corn flour here. I prefer rice flour because it will make your fries more crispy. Turmeric powder, red chili powder, baking powder and black pepper are added to the batter. To get better result you should deep fry karela pakoda.
Karela pakoda is very good evening snack in summer. It works well during rain. You can try this with buttery green peas rice also.
Karela pakoda, delicious crispy battered bitter gourd fries
- Karela / bitter gourd - 5-6 small size
- Imli / tamarind - 2 tsp
- Pakoda batter preparation
- Rice flour - ½ cup
- Haldi / turmeric powder - 1 tsp
- Red chili powder - 1.5 tsp
- Baking powder - pinch of
- Black pepper powder - 1 tsp
- Salt - as needed
- Oil - as needed to deep fry
- Water - as needed
- First, take a small bowl of warm water and add some tamarind and make tamarind pulp
- Discard solid portion of tamarind from pulp and put all bitter gourd slices for 2 hours
- Mix all ingredients for batter and prepare the smooth batter for karela pakoda
- Now heat oil in a pan, dip bitter gourd in batter and deep fry in oil
Karela pakoda, bitter gourd & myself
I enjoy karela pakoda with plain rice & ghee/butter too. Though sometimes I enjoy this as a snack with masala tea.
Bitter gourd is quite popular in West Bengal. Many people like simple bitter gourd fries. Bitter gourd fries also one of my favorite fries during summer. I just love to have no spice potato & bitter gourd fries with plain rice and ofcourse along with Bengal’s famous mustard sauce ‘kasundi’. Did you ever try this? It is just awesome.
I also grow karela during summer every year. It helps me to harvest chemical free fresh bitter gourds. Last year I tried to grow bitter gourds in a large container and that too on the rooftop. It was really a great fun.
If you are looking for some more dishes for evening snacks then try gobi 65, gajar tikki sandwich, aloo chat, vada pav etc.
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