Tasty karela sabzi - Simple Bitter gourd saute

I gotta admit, I am no fan of karela or bitter gourd. I struggle to understand how people can eat this vegetable and love it. And yet when my sister promised me that I would love this preparation, I was a bit sceptical. However, this dish was devoured within minutes of its preparation and the soft phulkas that we ate it with, just added to its heavenly taste. So I won't say any more, except that the actual number of ingredients and complexity of cooking is minimal. A novice can cook this and win hearts. And if you don't like bitter gourd, you must try it, you will love this preparation. I recently cooked this for my extended family, who by the way eat this vegetable regularly. They absolutely loved it!

Recipe credit: Anita Arakal

Ingredients:

1. Karela (Bitter gourd) - 250 gms
2. Onions - 250 gms
3. Green chilly - 2 nos
4. Salt - as per taste
5. Oil - as needed

Method:

1. Peel and slice the onions, chop the green chilly. Wash the whole gourd in water, cut into half, lengthwise, remove all the core and seeds from the centre and slice thinly.
2. Heat a pan, add two to three tablespoons of oil, when the oil heats up, add the sliced onions and add the sliced gourd on top of the onions, without mixing. Let it remain for a minute or so.
3. Start stir frying on high heat at intervals the first five minutes. Add the green chilly.
4. Lower the flame to simmer and let it cook for about forty minutes, stirring at regular intervals. The vegetable needs to turn brown evenly and become less than half it's original quantity.
5. Add salt just before you put off the flame. Mix well and it's ready to be served with hot chappatis.