Karela- Bitter melon is a vegetable one should know for sure.
you will love it or hate it. Relationship with this unique vegetable is either or.  Karela is widely known in India and China. This is a fruit of a subtropical vine in India, it looks like Zucchini with bumps. It is very bitter in taste and with proper preparation one can love to acquire the taste of it. Most of the time it is thinly sliced and fried with some spices to it. It is amazing to know the fruit contains a polypeptide called gurmarin that suppresses the body’s neural response to sweet stimulant.  that means after consuming karela sweet buds can be satisfied very easily in one helping of dessert. As i grew up in India, we tend to use each and every part of vegetable. I am sharing a good old  recipe which I learnt from my  mother.  I hope you will enjoy it!!

Serves four
Preparation time 45 Minutes
Cooking level: Medium

Ingredients:
6 Bitter melon  washed and dried
Peel the skin of the bitter melon  at least one and 1/2 cup
Ginger and chilli paste
1/4 tsp of turmeric
1/4 tsp red chilli
1 tsp each coriander and cumin powder
2 tbsp of whole wheat flour 
3 tbsp of besan or chickpea flour
1 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of lemon juice
1 tsp oil to add
3-4 tbsp of oil to fry
salt to taste
How to make:
Peel the skin of the bitter melon
Add salt to peeled skin of the bitter melon. set aside for half an hour.
Squeeze excess water out of peeled skin of bitter melon
Now add all the spices, wheat flour, besan flour,sugar,  lemon juice and one tsp of oil to the peeled skin of bitter melon.
Mix well making a  dough and later oblong shape called muthia as shown in the picture below. 
In a medium saucepan pan,  heat the oil on a medium high heat.
Fry all the muthias slowly stirring upside down.
Enjoy it with chutneys or sauces. 
Tips:  Taking the water out of bitter melon peels reduces its bitterness.
Always serve warm ,when it is warm it has more flavor and less bitter in taste.

Peeling Procedure
Bitter Melon

Muthais



Bitter Melon Fritters