Recipe Bitter Gourd (Karela) Curry with Eggs

Morning Glory

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You either love them or hate them. Bitter gourds are beautifully bitter. They take bitterness to a new level. On the other hand you might think that this is the worst taste ever. I adore them - but they need to be cooked with the right companions. We all know about the 'hot, sweet, sour, salty' combination. Add bitter to the mix! Bitter is not the same as sour. Bitter bites bits of your tongue that you didn't know you had. Temper the bitterness with comforting hard boiled eggs, sour tamarind, sweet and tangy mango powder and really quite a lot of salt and you will have a party going on.

OK - if you don't like or can't get bitter gourd then you could invite courgettes to the party instead. Reduce the cooking time accordingly and mourn the loss of bitterness that their warty skinned cousins possess.

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Ingredients

5 tbsp mustard oil
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp hot chilli powder (or to taste)
1 onion, sliced fairly thinly
4 - 6 shelled hardboiled eggs
1 fat thumb of ginger
4 fat garlic cloves
2 bitter gourds (kourela), sliced into rounds
1 tsp amchur (mango powder)
2 tsp tomato paste
1 tsp tamarind paste
1 tsp sugar (optional)
A large handful of curry leaves
1 tbsp plain yoghurt
Kalonji seeds to sprinkle

Method
  1. Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. Fry until they pop, then add the turmeric and chilli powder.
  2. Add the eggs and turn so they take on colour then remove and set aside.
  3. Add the onions and grate the garlic and ginger into the pan (I use a microplane).
  4. Cook gently for approximately 5 minutes, adding water if the pan becomes too dry.
  5. Add the bitter gourd slices, amchur and half the curry leaves. Add water if required.Cook for 20 minutes until the bitter gourd is tender - it should retain some bite.
  6. Add the tomato puree, tamarind paste and sugar and return the eggs to the pan. Stir through and add salt to taste. Add more water if needed, to form a generous sauce.
  7. Stir in the yoghurt and the remaining curry leaves and simmer for 5 minutes.
  8. Serve sprinkled with a few kalonji seeds.

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Last edited:
You either love them or hate them. Bitter gourds are beautifully bitter. They take bitterness to a new level. On the other hand you might think that this is the worst taste ever. I adore them - but they need to be cooked with the right companions.
Just last night, I was enjoying an extremely highly hopped beer. I like the hops in my beer to be so pronounced that it’s practically crunchy. Most people don’t care for that much bitterness in their beer.

Now, I’m sure this takes bitterness to a new level. But, after all those times passing these up at the fruit and vegetable market, I think I’m going to have to give them a try.
 
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