Keema Karela

Introduction

I love keema karela, I adore the sharp tang of the karela/ bitter gourd against the spicy mince lamb. I have only started making this recipe recently as I felt daunted by the prospect of making such a sophisticated curry. However, I do not know why I waited so long to make it. The recipe is easy, with simple steps to lead to a beautiful dish which will wow anyone who eats a morsel.

To be honest, I can’t believe that I am posting a recipe for karela. This was the one vegetable I detested as a child. I could not get my head around the bitter taste, I would eat the mince meat happily and pick out the karela (or bitter gourd) from my plate.

Now as an adult, mother, I feed the same keema karela curry to my children (who also do not enjoy the karela part!) But wow o wow, do I now have a new appreciation for karela as an adult. I am hoping the kids will also acquire the taste for it as they get older too!

Why make Keema Karela

I always felt like keema karela was for mature, sophisticated adults to eat as child and even a teenager. I feel very chuffed with myself that I now have acquired an adult palate to appreciate this dish. So if you want to show off your sophisticated palette to your guests, this is the dish to make. I’d make it along with nihari and chicken tikka for a real treat!

It is also a versatile dish you can prepare with lamb, chicken or mutton mince meat. You can really use whatever meat you prefer. The curry freezes very well for up to three months. So you could always make keema karela in bulk and eat on the day and freeze the rest until needed. Let the curry de-frost in the fridge overnight.

Karela is a great vegetable to eat for health benefits. There’s an array of different things it’s great for health wise, for example antioxidants, great for your digestive system, it can also help reduce blood sugar, the list goes on and on! My mum always recommends you buy the slim and long karela for this curry. You will be unlikely to find karela in your local western grocery store, but you will be definitely able to find this in your local South Asian grocery shop.

Once cooked, the karela will be much softer but will retain a slight crunch. My daughter says it’s like tender stem broccoli, which is quite a good description!

Preparing Keema Karela

It does require a bit more prior thought and preparation than a normal curry. Namely that the karela need to be washed, dried, cut and salted, ideally the night before cooking. This is purely to help to take out some of the sharp tanginess before cooking. It does not take long to do this step, and it’s well worth a little bit of planning as it removes any excess bitterness, making the overall curry is just delightful to eat.

If you were making keema karela for guests, you could easily prepare the keema in advance, complete steps 2, 3, 4,6 and 7. Then you can keep the keema for one to two days in the fridge. On the day you want to serve your guests, start cooking step at 5, 8, 9, and 10 which will rapidly reduce your time in the kitchen on the actual day of entertaining.

See my video on Youtube, Instagram or TikTok to see how to make this dish.

Ingredients

Ingredients for Karela

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1.5 tablespoons of coriander seeds, roughly grounded with mortal and pestle.
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 3 karela
• 2bsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 green chillies, finely chopped
• 1 bullet pepper chilli sliced in half

Ingredients for keema

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon of garlic
• 1 teaspoon of ginger
• 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 0.5 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 500 grams mince meat ( I used lamb keema)
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree
• 3/4 tsp garam masala
• Fresh coriander, 1 handful, finely chopped.
• 250 ml of water

Instructions

1. Wash, dry and cut the karela in half. Remove the seeds and then cut the karela into small slices. Rub the pieces in salt and leave overnight in an airtight container (if you are short of time, you could leave them for an hour or so before cooking).

2. After the karela have sat in the salt overnight, you can start on preparing the keema. Heat the oil and fry the onions until brown.

3. Add the garlic and ginger and stir through until the raw smell of the garlic and ginger has gone.

4. Next add the tomatoes and tomato puree and all the spices, except the garam masala and stir through. Add 100 ml of water, let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes with the pan lid on. Keep checking the masala is not sticking to the pan. If it dries out, add a more water.

5. Whilst the masala base is simmering, start preparing the karela. Wash the salt off the karela and then dry them off.

6. In a separate pan, heat the oil and add the coriander seeds, sliced onion, chillies, bullet pepper chilli, lemon juice and the karela. Cook together on a medium to low heat for 10 minutes until the karela have softened.

7. Go back to the masala pan and add the mince meat, break up the mince with the back of your spoon and cook on medium heat until the mince has browned in the masala.

8. Add the tomato puree, stir through. Then add 150 ml of water, cover the keema pan with a lid and turn the heat to low, simmer for 15 minutes

9. Next, add the karela to the keema pan and simmer for a further 10 minutes.

9. Add the garam masala, stir through. Then garnish with fresh coriander and serve with fresh chapatis.