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Serves: 4

Ingredients

5 medium sized bitter gourds
2.5 cm root ginger, peeled
5 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
4 red chillies, dried
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp sesame seeds
0.5 tsp olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
4 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp jaggery, grated
2 tbsp tamarind
1 tsp salt

Source

This recipe had been sourced from Healthy Indian Cooking for Diabetes

Healthy Hints

100 Calories per portion sounds too good to be true, but this is not a mistake. And here's even better news: there is research to suggest that karela can help to keep blood sugar levels steady in diabetes. Take note, karela in curry is usually fried so don’t assume all karela curries are this healthy.

Cooking Guide

1. Scrape the bitter gourds and then cut them in half lengthways. Remove the seeds and slice thinly. Sprinkle over some salt and set aside for 10–15 minutes. Then wash the gourds with plenty of water, drain and squeeze out any excess water.

2. Grind the ginger and garlic together to form a fine paste.

3. Heat a tawa, then roast the chillies and coriander, cumin and sesame seeds on a medium heat until light brown, stirring continuously. Cool the mixture and then grind to a fine powder.

4. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan. Add the sliced gourds and stir-fry for 4–5 minutes, until slightly browned. Add the chopped onions and stir-fry for 3–4 minutes. Add the ginger-garlic paste and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes, then add the tomato purée and cook for a further few minutes.

5. Stir in the ground spices, grated jaggery, tamarind pulp and salt, and mix well. Add 200 millilitres water and bring to the boil. Then reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.