Bitter Gourd is a power-packed vegetable that offers a plethora of health benefits, right from boosting immunity and helping those with diabetes to detoxifying the liver and combating cancer, Karela is a must-have vegetable for people of all age groups.
If you have kids at home, then you might have had some hard times while making them eat Bitter Gourd.
If you too are overwhelmed by its bitter flavour, then here are some super easy ways to tone down the bitterness of the vegetable.
1. Scrape off the skin
The rugged surface of the bitter gourd contains the maximum amount of bitterness. To cut down on the bitterness, just take a knife and scrape the skin of the bitter gourd. You can also use a peeler to remove the layer uniformly.
2. Use jaggery
The taste of dry Bitter Gourd sabzi gets accentuated with the addition of jaggery. It not only gives a glossy appearance to the sabzi but also balances out the flavours perfectly. All you need to do is, take a chunk of jaggery, grate it and add it to the sabzi. You can increase or decrease the sweetness as per your taste.
3. Deep fry
If you are going to use bitter gourd to make pakodas, then the job of removing bitterness is anyway done. Deep frying tones down the bitterness while simultaneously cooking the vegetable evenly.
4. Get rid of seeds
Always make sure that the seeds of the bitter gourd are removed before using it in recipes. If you like gardening or have a kitchen garden at home, you can use these seeds to grow Bitter Gourd plants.
5. Salt marination
Another simple way to make bitter gourd less bitter is by marinating it with salt. Just take the bitter gourd, scrape out the seeds as well as the outer skin. Now sprinkle a generous amount of salt on it and rub it all over the bitter gourd. Repeat this step with all the bitter gourds. Place them in a bowl and set them aside for 30 minutes. Now just wash the gourd and pat them dry. You can now chop them and use as per the recipe.
6. Soaking method
7. Blanching
Boil 2-3 cups of water in a pot. Add 1 tsp salt to it. Once the water comes to a roaring boil, add chopped bitter gourd to it. Cook on high flame for 2 minutes and then take out the bitter gourd. Dip immediately in cold water for 2 minutes. Now drain all the water and the bitter gourd is ready to be used.
