Stuffed keema karele, also known as bharwan karela in Hindi, is a delicious and nutritious dish that is popular in many parts of North India and Pakistan. It is made by filling bitter gourds (karela) with a mixture of spices or onion masala, and fried to make a delicious side dish. But in my recipe I am using ground meat cooked in tomato puree with spices, and then cooking them until they are tender and flavorful.
Bharwa Karela is believed to have originated in India, where bitter gourd has been a part of the culinary landscape for centuries. The bitter gourd itself has ancient roots in traditional medicine and cooking.
With global migration and the increasing interest in diverse cuisines, karela has reached far beyond its Asian and Middle Eastern origins. It has made its way into international markets, grocery stores, and restaurants, intriguing adventurous palates around the world.
Normally if you are going to make bharwa karela (keema stuffed Karela), you would stuff the meat or onion masala in the karela and then take a long piece of thread and stitch the karela together before cooking. But as you will see in my recipe, you won’t need to use any thread or do any kind of stitching to cook this.
My husband and I are big cheese lovers so instead of going with this traditional method, we decided to stuff the karela with meat and cheese. The result, as you will see, turned out to be delicious! This recipe was truly fulfilling. All the flavors from the karela, meat, spices, and cheese melted together perfectly. But karela naturally can have a bitter taste. So make sure to follow the recipe below to avoid this. This is a simple and easy recipe for beginners.
These are all the benefits of bitter melon that it gives to your body. So when you find out that it has so many benefits for your body, then you try it in different ways and stuffed gourd or bharwan karela is one the best recipes that it’s both flavorful and healthy.
When I was kid, I remember whenever my mom cooked the karela, I wanted to eat something else instead of karela because I didn’t like its bitterness, but as I grew up, I realized its benefits. So I started cooking them in different ways. In this recipe, I will tell you how you can remove the bitterness of karela and get the most out of it
The two major varieties of bitter melon are the the Chinese(smooth skin) and the Indian(bumpy skin). Chinese bitter melons are typically a lighter green hue with smooth skin While Indian Bitter melons are darker green and spiky. Chinese bitter melons are less bitter as compare to Indian bitter melon so you can skip the process of salting the Chinese bitter melons.
The stuffing using for Bharwa karela can vary in different countries or even households. If you want to make it a pure vegetarian dish, add saute onion, spices and peeled scraping of karela (karela ki bhor) or add raw mango for a different and unique flavor. You can use peanut and coconut stuffing by sauting them in oil and mixing them with the spices. You can also add any leftover meat(beef, chicken, mutton) for stuffing the karela or make a fresh meat stuffing for the karela as I am going to tell you in this recipe.
1. First, Scratch off the outer skin of Karela. When scraping the karela make sure you don’t over-scrape them. Because the peels of karela have many health benefits
2. Secondly, Slice open one side of the karela, and make sure to not cut all the way through the karela.
3. Thirdly, Using your finger or a spoon, take out all of the seeds from the inside. Make sure the inside is completely clean. We are making space inside the karela to put the ground meat.
we are going to marinate the karela with a handful of salt and turmeric. Rub the karela well in a mixture of salt and turmeric. Leave the marinated karela for at least 30 minutes at room temperature. Wash the karela by squeezing them well in water. After washing the karela, dry them with a paper towel and cloth.
2. In a pan add 4 tablespoons of oil, 1 tablespoon of ginger garlic paste, 4 pounds of ground chicken
3. Then add 2 tablespoons of salt, 2 tablespoons of red chili, 1 tablespoon of cumin and coriander powder, and 1 tablespoon of garam masala
4. Stir it until the water has dried completely and chicken is ready for stuffing.
1. we will fill the karela with cooked ground chicken with the help of small spoon or your finger
2. Cover the open end of the karela with the cheese slice. Then press it well from the edges and sides so that it is properly fixed inside.
1.Drizzle some oil in the pan and add the stuffed karela into the pan. Fry the stuffed karela over a medium flame for about 15 minutes so that the cheese will melt and make a strong bond with the chicken and karela. During this step, we are lightly frying the karela. The karela won’t be fully cooked yet. We will finish cooking the karela in a later step below.
1. Add 4 tablespoons of oil and add 1 chopped onion. Stir it in the oil until the onion turns into a light brown color. Now add the tomato puree, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of red chili, 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon of cumin and coriander powder and 1/2 teaspoon of garam masala. Stir everything and make sure to mix them well.
2. Add the stuffed fried karele back into the pan with the tomato base to finish cooking. Now cover the pan and leave it cooking for 45 minutes on a low flame. After 45 minutes, the karele will be fully cooked.
3. Add some green chilies and cilantro and left over keema on the top
1. Covering the open end of karela with cheese instead of using thread bring a unique and modern twist in your bharwa karela
2. Sprinkle some green chili and cilantro at the end will make everything so attractive
3. You can make the karela stuffing a day before and stir fry the stuffed karela and make the tomato base on the day of serving will reduce the 50% work burden
4. In this recipe, it is best to use fresh and tender bitter gourd. Do not use bitter gourd that are mature and have lots of seeds
5. You can freeze the cleaned bitter free karela for a long time. Before making the stuffed karela, let them come to room temperature and then put the stuffing inside. In this way, your cooking time to make stuffed karela will be cut in half
You can serve bharwa karela with paratha or roti. As you see in the picture. But you can also eat with rice and chutni.
