Kakarakaya Masala Curry

Kakarakaya masala curry is a spicy and scrumptious recipe. The peanut gravy is easy to make. Great to serve with both rice or roti.

Author: Pavani

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 50

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: andhra

Servings: servings

After thoroughly washing the bitter gourd, lightly scrub to remove some of the spiky top layer. Chop into ½" pieces.
4~6 Medium Bitter Gourd
(OPTIONAL*) Place the chopped bitter gourd in a microwave safe bowl along with yogurt or tamarind and salt. Mix well, cover and microwave for 5~7 minutes (depending on the wattage of the microwave) until bitter gourd feels crisp tender. Alternately you can also steam this prepped bitter gourd.
Remove from the microwave and let cool for 5 minutes. Drain into a sieve or colander and run cold water until cool enough to handle. Then squeeze the excess liquid out and place on a plate or bowl. Set aside until ready to use.
1 tablespoon Yogurt or Tamarind paste, 1 teaspoon Salt

Heat oil in a medium size sauté pan on medium heat. Add the onions and stir fry until lightly browned around the edges, about 4~5 minutes. Stir in ginger~garlic paste and cook for 1 minute or until it does not smell raw anymore.
1 teaspoon Oil, 1 Small Onion, chopped, 1 teaspoon Ginger+garlic paste
Add the tomatoes and cook till tomatoes are soft and almost mushy, about 3~4 minutes. Stir in roasted peanuts and turn off the heat.
Let cool and then blend into a smooth paste adding water as necessary.
1 Medium Tomato, chopped, ¼ cup Roasted Peanuts, store-bought or homemade*, ¼ cup Water

Give the pan you used to make the peanut gravy a quick rinse and dry it.
Heat oil in the pan on medium heat; add mustard & cumin seeds and cook till the seeds start to splutter, about 30 seconds. Add dry red chilies and curry leaves. Sauté for a minute.
2 tablespoons Oil, ½ teaspoon Mustard seeds, ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds, 2 Dry red chilies, 6 Curry Leaves
Stir in the bitter gourd. Cover and cook for about 5~6 minutes. Add the peanut gravy, red chili powder, ground coriander, tamarind paste and salt. Mix to combine. Add water, if the gravy looks too thick. Cover and simmer for 10~12 minutes or until all the flavors mingle.
1 teaspoon Red chili powder (adjust as per taste preference), 1 teaspoon Ground Coriander, 1 tablespoon Tamarind paste, To taste Salt, ½ cup Water (optional)
Stir in the jaggery (if using). Cook for a minute. Turn off the heat. Serve hot with rice or roti.
1 teaspoon Jaggery or brown sugar*, optional

I try to remove some of the bitterness by microwaving or steaming karela with either tamarind or yogurt. The sourness helps to remove some of bitterness. But if you enjoy the bitterness, then feel free to skip this step.
Instead of microwaving the bitter gourd, you can steam them as well.
I love using blanched peanuts because they are convenient. But feel free to use peanuts with skin.
I love using red onion but any variety will work.
Jaggery or brown sugar is an optional ingredient, but I highly recommend adding it to balance out all of the flavors.
Kakarakaya masala curry tastes better the next day because all of the flavors have a chance to real shine.
Store leftover karela masala in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

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