Crispy Bitter gourd chips is a snack, made with Karela (Pavakkai), besan flour, rice flour and spices. Pavakkai pakoda recipe is available both in shallow fry and baking methods.
The goodness of Bittergourd:
Bittergourd is always known for being the best choice for a healthy diet. But wait! Who likes to eat it without difficulty? Of course not me!! The sharp unpleasant taste at once is just too much for me and the aftertaste it leaves in the tongue, no way!!! Though I like this vegetable for the abundant health benefits it can offer, I definitely cannot say I love Bittergourd. Most of you are like me I guess. It’s not the case with my husband. He can eat bittergourd in any form (let it be in sambar, fry, puli kuzhambu) without even a flinch. He truly loves this veggie.
If you are a Bittergourd lover too or in any way want to include this in your food check out my other popular bittergourd recipes below this post.
Few health benefits of bittergourd:
First of all, Bitter gourd is full of essential nutrients you all know. Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Folate, Potassium, Iron and Calcium are the key nutrients available in Bitter melon.
This bitter vegetable is believed to control blood sugar levels by promoting the insulin hormone.
Moreover the bittergourd contains certain components having cancer-fighting properties.
One more important quality is this vegetable can help in potential weight loss.
Info source: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/bitter-melon
Crispy bittergourd chips or bhajji or pakoras?
The Indian version of the chip when mixed with besan is called a pakora. More besan and water it becomes bhajji. Pakora has crispy and crunchy outer like chips. But bhajji is soft and often stuffed with vegetables or meatballs. Though all these are deep-fried, the various ingredient quantities decide the name.
The bittergourd fritters sold in shops are deep-fried in old oil and not healthy. Even though Bitter gourd is healthy, deep frying makes it non-suitable for a heart-healthy diet. I showed two alternate ways, the shallow fry method and the baking method. I haven’t tried this with an air fryer (another healthy option) yet and when I do will update this post.
Check out the video uploaded in the recipe card and please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you like to see more recipes from my channel.
Crispy Bitter gourd | Pavakkai pakoda | Karela pakora
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Frying shallow pan
Ingredients
- 200 g Bitter gourd (Deseeded & sliced)
- 1.25 tsp salt
- ½ cup Water
- 1 tsp Red chilli powder
- ½ tsp Chat masala
- ½ tsp Cumin powder
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp Besan flour
- 1.5 tbsp Rice flour
- ¼ tsp Asafoetida
- Fresh curry leaves
- 3 tbsp oil
Instructions
Preparation:
- Rinse 200g of Bittergourd, slice into thin pieces and deseed them. If you plan to bake Karela (Bittergourd), preheat the oven to 380F (190C). Meanwhile, you can prepare the pakora mix.
Recipe for crispy Bitter gourd chips:
- Take the sliced bittergourd pieces in a cooking pan. Add 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 cup of water. Cover with a lid, cook the vegetable for just five minutes. Switch off and filter out the excess water if anything left.
- Transfer the 3/4th cooked bittergourd to a mixing bowl. Add 3/4 tsp of salt, 1tsp of red chilli powder, 1/2tsp cumin powder and 1/2 tsp of chat masala (optional). Also, add 1tbsp of besan flour and 1.5 tbsp of rice flour.
- Next, add a tsp of cumin seeds and put a pinch of hing(asafoetida). Add a few fresh curry leaves too to add an excellent flavor to the crispy Bitter gourd.
- Combine everything properly. Do not add water while mixing as the moisture from the cooked bittergourd is enough to bind the masalas. Sprinkle few drops of water only if needed. The pakoda mix should neither have dry flour nor have extra moisture. The masalas should stick to the bittergourd.
- In any case, if your pakoda mix becomes wet or watery, add an extra tbsp of rice flour or cornflour.
How to shallow fry Bittergourd chips:
- Heat 3tbsp of oil in a flat pan. When the oil comes to sizzling temperature, add the bittergourd pieces.
- Lay the pieces one by one separately leaving enough space for each of them to get fried.
- As the Bitter gourd is already cooked, only the masalas need to get fried. Roast the veggies for around 3mins until crisp on one side.
- Flip the pieces one by one using a tong. Roast the other sides for two more minutes until deep brown and crispy.
- Remove the bittergourd (Pavakkai) chips from the pan and repeat the same for the rest of the batches.
- Serve the bittergourd pakoras(karela chips) hot.
Baked Bittergourd chips (karela pakora):
- Preheat the oven to 190C (approx. 380F). Line the baking tray with parchment paper and arrange the spiced Bitter gourd pieces.
- Bake at 380F for 15 minutes until crisp. Each oven is different, so check after ten minutes and decide when to take it out.
- The chips may look soft right after coming out of the oven. Bittergourd chips become crispy with the retained heat and become crunchy in few minutes.
- Serve hot or let cool and store in a tight jar.
Video
Notes
1) Besan flour gives the perfect taste of pakoras. To get a different taste, you can omit besan and add corn starch instead.
2) If you are okay with deep frying, feel free to fry the pavakka pakodas in little more oil. Make sure to heat the oil to the right frying temperature before roasting.
Nutrition
Preparation:
- Rinse 200g of Bittergourd, slice into thin pieces and deseed them.
- If you plan to bake Karela (Bittergourd), preheat the oven to 380F (190C). Meanwhile, you can prepare the pakora mix.
Recipe for crispy Bitter gourd chips:
- Take the sliced bittergourd pieces in a cooking pan. Add 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 cup of water. Cover with a lid, cook the vegetable for just five minutes. Switch off and filter out the excess water if anything left.
- Transfer the 3/4th cooked bittergourd to a mixing bowl. Add 3/4 tsp of salt, 1tsp of red chilli powder, 1/2tsp cumin powder and 1/2 tsp of chat masala (optional). Also, add 1tbsp of besan flour and 1.5 tbsp of rice flour.
- Next, add a tsp of cumin seeds and put a pinch of hing(asafoetida). Add a few fresh curry leaves too to add an excellent flavor to the crispy Bitter gourd.
- Combine everything properly. Do not add water while mixing as the moisture from the cooked bittergourd is enough to bind the masalas. Sprinkle few drops of water only if needed. The pakoda mix should neither have dry flour nor have extra moisture. The masalas should stick to the bittergourd.
- In any case, if your pakoda mix becomes wet or watery, add an extra tbsp of rice flour or cornflour.
How to shallow fry Bittergourd chips:
- Heat 3tbsp of oil in a flat pan. When the oil comes to sizzling temperature, add the bittergourd pieces. Lay the pieces one by one separately leaving enough space for each of them to get fried.
- As the Bitter gourd is already cooked, only the masalas need to get fried. Roast the veggies for around 3mins until crisp on one side.
- Flip the pieces one by one using a tong. Roast the other sides for two more minutes until deep brown and crispy. Remove the bittergourd (Pavakkai) chips from the pan and repeat the same for the rest of the batches.
- Serve the bittergourd pakoras(karela chips) hot.
Baked Bittergourd chips (Kakarakaya chips):
- Preheat the oven to 190C (approx. 380F). Line the baking tray with parchment paper and arrange the spiced Bitter gourd pieces.
- Bake at 380F for 15 minutes until crisp. Each oven is different, so check after ten minutes and decide when to take it out.
- The chips may look soft right after coming out of the oven. Bittergourd chips become crispy with the retained heat and become crunchy in few minutes.
- Serve hot or let cool and store in a tight jar.
Tips:
1) Besan flour gives the perfect taste of pakoras. To get a different taste, you can omit besan and add corn starch instead.
2) If you are okay with deep frying, feel free to fry the pavakka pakodas in little more oil. Make sure tp heat the oil to the right frying temperature before roasting.
