Karathe Nonche/Indian Styled Pickled Bitter Gourd or Melon; a tangy, sweet, spicy and a pleasantly bitter Indian pickle (“nonche”) made with Karathe/karela/bitter gourd and a few aromatic spices with tamarind being the sour element! We love it as an accompaniment with rice and dal and a stir fry on the side; goes great with parathas, rotis, puris etc. too! Bitter gourd is a vegetable indigenous to India, but now easily available in other parts of the world. You can find it in any Indian store. It is slightly bitter but with amazing nutrition benefits and like manna to diabetics! It looks kind of like cucumber but with weird gourd-like bumps all over!
Ask any one whether they like bitter gourd and almost always, you will get a negative answer. But I would say, they do not know how to make use of this in their cooking! Cooked properly and with the right amount of spices and flavor, you will grow to love this unusual vegetable and reap its myriad of health benefits! They are very low in calories, but excellent source of vitamins, rich in iron, calcium, potassium, beta-carotene and the best part is, it has a unique constituent which is akin to insulin; hence extremely beneficial to diabetics. Actually, drinking bitter melon juice is considered best for diabetics and almost anyone!
Now, on to this lip-smacking and flavorful pickle! Once you have made the spice mixture (just 4 ingredients; coriander seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and hing/asafetida powder) that lends the taste to this dish, all you need is to cook the gourd with the spice mixture along with some salt and jaggery (unrefined sugar) until thick. If you cannot get jaggery, use sugar, but I would suggest you try it with jaggery, a totally unrefined sugar; gives a very nice sweet and healthy touch to the pickle. Once it is to the consistency you want, temper or season with a wee bit of coconut oil, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Yes, a pickle with almost no oil!! Don’t you love it? Now, no excuse not to indulge in this healthy spicy, mildly sweet, tad bit tangy, slightly bitter and savory finger-licking good pickle from India which almost is like a side dish or curry to enjoy with your meals!
Unlike other Indian pickles, you cannot keep it outside; it needs to be refrigerated. Once you have tasted it and knowing its health benefits, I am sure; bitter gourd/karela will be on your grocery list often! Do try and when you do, would love to know about it. Please feel free to leave your comments and thoughts in the box below (do not forget to give a rating) and/or would love to see your version by sharing on Instagram using #curryandvanilla16 or @curryandvanilla16. Sharing on my Facebook page too is totally one of the options. Happy Cooking and Eating! If you love karela/bitter gourds, then do check out Karathe Kismuri too! Goes so well with any Indian meal either rice and dal or even chapathis, rotis etc. LETS DO SOME PICKLING!
How to make Karathe Nonche:
Wash bitter gourds and cut into two length wise. Remove seeds in the center and discard them. Cut the deseeded bitter gourd into cubes. Keep aside.
Cook Time: 45 minutes It is a perfect side/condiment with any Indian meal.
5 tbsp dhania/coriander seeds 3 tbsp mustard seeds 1 tbsp methi seeds/ fenugreek seeds 5-6 ddry red chilies 1 small lemon sized fresh tamarind (or tamarind paste) ½ tbsp hing/asafetida powder (optional) 4 large karela/bitter gourd ½ cup jaggery (unrefined cane sugar) or to taste 2 tsp salt or according to taste Seasoning: 2 tbsp. coconut oil or any cooking oil 2 tsp mustard seeds 2 sprigs curry leaves
Instructions Notes Amount of sweetener is up to you.
In a saucepan, roast coriander seeds, mustard seeds and methi seeds on medium low heat until the mustard seeds start to splutter and the whole mixture turns light brown; about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the dry red chillies, broken into 2 or 3 pieces and fry again for 1 minute. Just before removing from heat, stir in asafetida powder, give it a good mix and keep aside to cool. The heat of the mixture is enough to roast the asafetida powder.
Once the mixture is cool, blend it along with a small lemon sized piece of tamarind to a powder.
In a large deep saucepan, add plenty of water to the chopped bittergourds to up to 1 inch above the vegetable.
Bring to a boil on high heat and once it comes to a boil, lower heat, cover and cook on medium low heat until it is cooked, and soft and almost done.
Once it is cooked, add the spice powder, jaggery and salt, mix well and bring to a boil again.
Once it comes to a boil, lower heat and simmer on medium low until the pickle becomes thick; about 15 to 20 minutes. Do a taste test and adjust the jaggery and salt to get a balanced sweet and salty flavor with a slight tang of the tamarind.
Prepare tempering:
In a small saucepan, heat coconut oil and add mustard seeds. Once the seeds start to pop and crackle, add the curry leaves and saute for a few seconds.
Pour this over the pickle and mix well.
Enjoy with hot rice and dal, with dosas (Indian rice-lentil crepes), idlis (lentil-rice steamed cakes) or any Indian flat bread like puris, chapattis, parathas etc.
Enjoy!! Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to a month.
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