SD says: 'Karele ki Bhujia' (sliced bitter guard dish)

Karele ki Bhujia or, Karele ki Sabji

It is an all-time favorite dish of North India, in summers. I know I am a bit late in posting this recipe as summers are almost gone but I hope you can still cook and enjoy it in these remaining few days, till 'karela' (bitter guard) and raw mangoes can still be got in the market.

Ingredints:-
1. 8 to 9 small-medium karele (bitter guard); 2. 4 to 5 medium-sized onions; 3. 2 small-medium raw mangoes;
4. 2 medium-big green chillies; 5. A quarter tsp. chillie powder, less than a quarter tsp turmeric powder and salt as per taste; 6. Oil for deep frying.

Method:- First of all wash and dry the karelas and chop them into thin slices (2 to 3mm). Sprinkle one heaped tsp. of salt on the sliced karela, mix nicely and keep aside for one hour.

In the mean- time prepare other ingredients like, remove the skin of mangoes and slice them thinly. You will need to use only one and half sliced mango. Slice the onions and gren chillies also.

After one hour, squeeze-out the water from karela slices by pressing handfuls between palms. Now heat oil for frying in a 'kadahi' or deep frying- pan. When the oil is quite hot, turn the flame to medium and fry karela slices in it. You don't have to fry them brown and crisp. Take them out when they are slightly brown and still soft. The following pictures will make it clear.

Now you are ready to prepare the bhujia as all your ingredients are ready to be used.

The next thing you do is, take some oil in the kadahi and fry sliced onions in it. The heat should be medium. When the onions are transparent, add green chillies and keep stir- frying. When the chillies are slightly cooked and onions turn pink, add raw mango slices. Fry till onions start turning brown and mango slices become limp. Now you add red chilli, turmeric and salt, mix nicely and stir-fry some more. At this stage, add fried karela slices, mix nicely and let cook for some time, turning frequently but gently, till they are cooked through. Eat a small spoon-full to check the taste. If chilli or salt are less, you can still add them and stir to combine. Your 'Karele ki Bhujia' is ready to be eaten! ( The serial-wise pictures given below will make the whole process very clear).