Spicy Karela (Karathe’/Bitter Gourd) Crispies

“Spicy Karela (Karathe’/Bitter Gourd) Crispies”… a delicious- healthy- crispy snack to munch on at any given time … I microwaved these crispies for the first time with just about a tablespoon of oil, spiced them up and relished them with some methi parathas while I was travelling by train to my hometown and the bitter truth is it’s truly fantastic as a time pass snack … ha ha ... that plane too was brought to landing at station to enjoy the crispies ... Yummilicious ….

** Over the years many are skeptical to deep fry veggies thinking of its consequences on health, yet we always crave for fried crispies that are really delicious especially if you are used to having relished them through growing years. Microwave comes in to rescue during such times and I have begun using it extensively to prepare any kurkuri/ crispies using different veggies and it is a pleasure to have them crisp and yum with bare minimum oil.

** I had to travel to Mangalore to attend a Marriage function in family and I always prefer travelling by train as not only does it stop at nearby station that is hardly a 5 minutes drive but also gives a complete rest of about 17 hours which gives me time to read, sleep, listen to music etc. Frankly I just snooze off the minute the trains starts off just to wake up in between to eat and go back to sleep and before we realize we have reached destination.

** Coming to food I prefer to carry my own as availability in train is not reliable. I am talking about Mumbai to Mangalore train Matsyagandha, which does not have a pantry car, which means we need to order and off course they do deliver the food, but God forbid if the train is delayed then everything goes for a toss, which is my experience many a times. Twice we had to go hungry all the way coz. of this issue after which I always carry food.

** My maid help suggested I carry methi parathas prepared with liberal oil which remains good for 2-3 days and karela fries which also remains good for a week. She is a foodie and has lots of tricks up her sleeve and was all geared up to prepare the same. As the train was at noon she came and prepared the roti in the morning. The karela crispies I prepared myself, but I gave it a twist unlike her method of deep frying by using microwave method.

** The credit for the original dish goes to her as she was the one who told me the same. These are simple to prepare, you just need to slice them apply some salt and keep aside for 15 minutes if need be to remove bitterness, I have not done so, I never do, as I strongly believe that by doing so we are just throwing out the medicinal properties in them. Well deep fry them and sprinkle on some spices and it remains good for over a week.

** Here is my recipe for “Spicy Karela (Karathe’/Bitter Gourd) Crispies”… My Style …

** Wash, drain and pat dry ½ kg of karela/ Karathe’/ Bitter gourds. See to it that there is no trace of water. Now slice off the edges and then cut them lengthwise into half. Remove the inner seed and then cut them into strips of 2 inches in length.

** Mix 2 tblsp of oil, I used saffola oil, to all the bitter gourd pieces, taking care to see that they are evenly coated. Spread them evenly on an flat glassware tray and microwave to 8 minutes on high mode. Then mix in between and continue microwaving until crisp and done.

** It takes somewhere between 15-20 minutes depending upon your microwave, the thickness of the bitter gourd cuts etc. So once you cross 12 minutes, run the machine at intervals or 1-2 minutes to avoid the bitter gourds getting over done.

** Keep in mind that once the veggies do get cooked even after stopping the microwave machine for about 3-4 minutes. So be careful on that front, you can always run the oven again after a few minutes gap if need be to prepare them crisp too.

** Once done remove them into a bowl and let cool. Sprinkle some salt and spices of your choice and toss them all together to get coated/ distributed evenly. I used salt, chilly powder, along with a large pinch of sambar masala powder to spice the crispies, you can use any.

** “Spicy Karela (Karathe’/Bitter Gourd) Crispies” are done and ready. Store them in air tight container, as it remains good for a week, and is great to be carried on journey as it is absolutely a delight to munch them on especially while travelling as it is or with roti too.

** If you do not want to use the mircorwave method, just deep fry the bitter gourds cut into pieces in hot oil until crisp and done. When even browned, remove with a ringed spatula draining back excess oil and place them on absorbent paper for more excess oil to drain.

** Allow the deep fried bitter gourd piece to cool and then follow the same method as mentioned above. Bitter gourds are available almost all round the season, in Mumbai we get light green colored ones which are less bitter in taste and I have used that variety.

** You can also thinly slice them into roundels without removing the inner seeds and follow the same method as above too. Frankly if the seeds within are tender, they have tremendous health properties in them, so should not really be discarded, I do not do so at times.

** You can relish these Spicy Karela (Karathe’/Bitter Gourd) Crispies anytime of the day with a coolant or as a starter with friends while chatting up etc. or during monsoon season when its raining outside and you really can’t go out, so catch up on that novel with these.

** Note : This post has been re-edited with details which lacked in the previous post as I was a novice then to blogging, not that I know much of now, but then I guess I am learning. The Recipe remains the same and I have not made any changes whatsoever to it.