Karlyachi Bhaji

For YEARS, I did everything to avoid eating karla or bittergourd! Over the years, as an adult, I became more open to trying it and after trying SEVERAL different preparations, I have boiled it down to two ways of preparing karli – that i truly enjoy.

One is to make crispy chips with it, which are absolutely delicious! and the other is this bhaaji. Normally I have very specific names for my recipes. for example, baby Atyachi naralachi vadi, Swati maushi’s dudhi bhopla bhaji, etc. However, this one is a blend of so many different recipes, we’ll call this the “Bhide family recipe”. It has bits and pieces from my aji’s, panaji’s, mom’s, dad’s recipes and recipes and techniques from a few different cooks we have had over the years! This sounds complicated, but don’t worry, the final recipe is very simple, uses very few ingredients and yields a delicious, not too-bitter perfect karlyachi bhaji that you’ll want to make again and again!

Ingredients:

4 medium-sized bitter gourds or karli – when shopping for them, make sure to pick ones that are dark-colored and slender – these are more tender and less bitter
One large-ish onion – finely chopped
salt
phodni/ tadka – oil, mistard seeds, lots of hing, turmeric
chilli powder

Instructions:

Wash and Cut the karlis down the center, lengthwise – remove the center part
Cut into slices – apply salt all over and massage it into the slices, let it rest covered, for 20-30 minutes

Then rinse thoroughly with water and drain

Heat oil in a pan and make a Phodni with a tiny bit of mustard seeds, more hing than you’d normally add! and a little bit of turmeric. This bhaji needs slightly more oil than you would usually add for other bhajis
Next add the onion and some salt – this will help sweat the onions and prevent it from browning, cook covered until done halfway through

Then add the prepared karli slice. Cover and cook until tender
Season with a tiny bit of goda masala, chilli powder and Finish with adding more salt if needed
Add a little bit of tamarind paste and a litrle bit of jaggery – or you can add a teaspoon of my tamarind+jaggery chutney, I make this in a large batch and store it for a year in the refrigerator. you can find the recipe for it here.