Baked Karela Fry | Baked Bitter Gourd Fry

Baked Karela Fry is a simple Indian style stir fry made with Bitter Gourd and spices.

Sharing the easy method of making Bitter Gourd Fry in the oven.

About this recipe

Bitter Gourd is also referred as bitter melon. It is called Karela in Hindi, Kakarkaya in Telugu and Hagalkaya in Kannada.

Once in two weeks I generally make some kind of Bitter gourd dish, as both me and my husband have grown up eating It. Among many dishes, my most favorite is this Andhra Style Stuffed Karela my mom made for us as kids.

Today I am sharing a simple North Indian Style Karela fry which used red chili, coriander and cumin powder. It goes really well with rasam or dal.

The best part about this dish is making it in the oven. Almost zero monitoring and it gets done to perfection.

This baked Karela Fry is

• is crispy and spicy with a dash of sweetness

• easily made in the oven

• a great side to serve with rice, dal or yogurt rice

• vegan and gluten free recipe

• a good beginner recipe, if you are trying to incorporate karela in your diet

Ingredient notes:

Bitter Gourd – Pick the bitter gourd which are fresh and green looking. You can buy them in most Indian stores.

For Sweetness – jaggery, coconut sugar or brown sugar can be used.

How to make Oven Baked Karela?

1& 2 – Wash the karela and cut them to thin round circles.

If you prefer, roughly peel the skin (it will cut down the bitterness) and then cut them to circles.

I generally do not peel or remove the seeds.

3 – Add all the sliced karela in a large bowl and add oil, jaggery, turmeric, coriander, cumin and red chili powder and salt.

4 & 5 – Mix it well and set aside for 20 – 25 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 F or 205 C and spray the baking sheet with oil. You could also line with a parchment paper.

6 – Arrange the karela pieces in a single row and bake in the middle rack of the oven for 15 minutes.

7 – While the karela is baking, slice some onion and bell pepper rings. I used mini orange bell pepper which worked great in this recipe.

8 – After 15 minutes you will see that the karela has brown color on the top.

9- Now add the onion and bell pepper and mix it.

10 – Place the baking sheet back in the oven for another 7 minutes. Do keep an eye after 5 minutes, you do not want to burn the karela.

Remove and let rest in the pan for few minutes.

Finally add some chopped coriander and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Serving Suggestions:

Serve the bitter gourd fry with rice and dal. You can also serve it with sambar or enjoy with yogurt rice.

How to remove bitterness from Karela?

1 – Soak the sliced bitter gourd in salt for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, lightly squeeze out the water from the karela. You can also rinse it the karela and pat it dry.

2 – You can also peel the skin to further remove the bitterness

3 – Adding jaggery and lemon juice will cut down the bitterness.

Do not go over board trying to remove the bitterness from Karela. If you keep incorporating it in your diet, you palate will start getting used to the taste.

Few more sides to serve with rice-

Cabbage Fry with roasted chana dal

Tindora Carrot Fry

Frozen Mixed Veggies Stir Fry

Bhindi Masala Fry

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