Love this, it reminds me of my relationship to Avocado and how that has evolved over the years. I do think our taste buds change and maybe it is adulting! Happy Kaerela discovering and cooking!
Haha! I remember thinking of avocado as overrated too… and before I knew it, I was waking up some mornings craving avocado on buttered toast and nothing else! 😂
Thank you for reading and hope my healthy relationship with karela continues.
I had the same issue with Beingen/bringal/abargine. But the goan style Bengan fry (with rava) was an eye opener. Now I do stuffed Bengan or Bengan bhartha.
But I always loved karela. We Mallus have a dish called aviyal which is lifeless without the bitterness of karela. I guess the dahi's sourness valences the bitterness of karela. You can also Stir fry karela with some coconut oil. We also have dried karela "Kondattam" (I think it is soaked in buttermilk and dried) which we can store for long time. They are deep fried and goes perfect with dahi rice. Once I visited Okinawa, they had a dish with karela and egg (and probably pork, don't remember) which was delicious. I guess simply baking it with a drizzle of oil woulbe be good too. While doing that, why not do a meat stuffing ?
Meat stuffed karela… uff, what a thought! Thank you for sharing these multiple variations. Can’t wait to try them all! I love baingan and rava fry is just 🤌🏾
Maybe I should try karela and baingan - my two evergreen hates! I liked the length of this post...thinking of my own writing, I think it gets long and sometimes overindulgent.
Thanks for the feedback on the length. It’s useful to know! I sometimes don’t end up writing anything because I feel I don’t have enough to say about something - but short posts like this are easier to read and also allow writers to be more regular with posts. I’m slowly warming up to this format.
Sometimes when I'm reading some substacks (not yours), I catch myself thinking, "Hurry up, get to the point". This isn't because I don't like long posts (I do) but because I've become impatient with throat clearing. I guess, long or short, so long as it is a self-contained unit, well put together, I'm happy to read it. I say all this as a note of caution really for myself of course :)
I read your pieces fully and enjoy them though so this comment is not intended as a commentary on your writing!
Your writing is always so relatable. Could not stop laughing when I read, "I suppose our taste buds evolve as we grow older. Or maybe we just warm up to the prospect of embracing and digesting bitterness. There's no longer an expectation or desire for everything to taste sweet and good. We'd rather have something real – even if it's thoda kadwa." It's so true!
Slice the karela thinly. Rub salt and haldi and deep fry till crisp. This is the Bengali korola bhaaja which my US based brother loves to have with a chilled glass of Coke whenever he comes home.😁
Personally, I love the astringent taste of Karela (among many bitter vegetables, like turkey berry for instance). I think it's a bit of an acquired taste for sure though.
Food writing is always delicious and even better if is about Karela. Now, if you want to give yourself and award for being the most evolved, try this recipe a staple in Bengali households. 1. Pressure cook whole karelas. Mash with green chillies, mustard oil and salt. Start your meal with this and hot rice. The next recipe is a winter favourite. Diced Karelas, diced potatoes- small cubes, heat mustard oil in a kadai, add Panchphoron - once the spices crackle add the potatoes saute, add Karela saute, add green peas salt and cover. Once cooked adjust salt, a touch of sugar/jaggery powder ( in Bengal we have to balance sweet and salt like in the south we will balance salt and sour) and enjoy with hot rice and ghee. Karela is my son's favourite vegetable- has always liked even as a child. I now aided by your essay think he was a tad precocious in the gentlest kind of way. 🤭.
Superb! I'm on the same journey with bitterness. Have developed a liking for black coffee. And with Kerala too, I now like it fried in batter when most of its bitterness is taken care of.
Definitely a sign of adulthood 😁. Hated it as a kid, but will tolerate it in small amounts now. Don’t love it but don’t hate it either. And those karelas from your veggie patch look so good❤️
I am that person who still says: I can eat everything except Karela! Lol my father loved Karela. He used to have it with fried onions, salt and pepper. That's it. Obviously when I tried it, I hated it. He's the only one who ate karela at home. You make me want to try Karela, Ila.
Haha! If I can start eating karela so can you 😂 Though there is really no compulsion. But I am discovering there are ways to get rid of the bitterness, and then it’s quite endurable and even enjoyable.
Love this, it reminds me of my relationship to Avocado and how that has evolved over the years. I do think our taste buds change and maybe it is adulting! Happy Kaerela discovering and cooking!
Haha! I remember thinking of avocado as overrated too… and before I knew it, I was waking up some mornings craving avocado on buttered toast and nothing else! 😂
Thank you for reading and hope my healthy relationship with karela continues.
I had the same issue with Beingen/bringal/abargine. But the goan style Bengan fry (with rava) was an eye opener. Now I do stuffed Bengan or Bengan bhartha.
But I always loved karela. We Mallus have a dish called aviyal which is lifeless without the bitterness of karela. I guess the dahi's sourness valences the bitterness of karela. You can also Stir fry karela with some coconut oil. We also have dried karela "Kondattam" (I think it is soaked in buttermilk and dried) which we can store for long time. They are deep fried and goes perfect with dahi rice. Once I visited Okinawa, they had a dish with karela and egg (and probably pork, don't remember) which was delicious. I guess simply baking it with a drizzle of oil woulbe be good too. While doing that, why not do a meat stuffing ?
Meat stuffed karela… uff, what a thought! Thank you for sharing these multiple variations. Can’t wait to try them all! I love baingan and rava fry is just 🤌🏾
Maybe I should try karela and baingan - my two evergreen hates! I liked the length of this post...thinking of my own writing, I think it gets long and sometimes overindulgent.
Hahah, please let me know how it goes if you do 😆
Thanks for the feedback on the length. It’s useful to know! I sometimes don’t end up writing anything because I feel I don’t have enough to say about something - but short posts like this are easier to read and also allow writers to be more regular with posts. I’m slowly warming up to this format.
Sometimes when I'm reading some substacks (not yours), I catch myself thinking, "Hurry up, get to the point". This isn't because I don't like long posts (I do) but because I've become impatient with throat clearing. I guess, long or short, so long as it is a self-contained unit, well put together, I'm happy to read it. I say all this as a note of caution really for myself of course :)
I read your pieces fully and enjoy them though so this comment is not intended as a commentary on your writing!
I totally get your dislike of karela. But I guess I'm not evolved, at least not yet. No karela for me please. 🤣
Fair enough 😂
Loved it!
As a lifelong karela fan, here to confirm that it is the absolute bomb.
Finally, something we can disagree about. 😂🙅🏻
😂😂
Hahaha good to have the validation 😆
I would give some credit to vegetable for your fabulous writing - truly evolved. Clean straight lines.
Your writing is always so relatable. Could not stop laughing when I read, "I suppose our taste buds evolve as we grow older. Or maybe we just warm up to the prospect of embracing and digesting bitterness. There's no longer an expectation or desire for everything to taste sweet and good. We'd rather have something real – even if it's thoda kadwa." It's so true!
Haha, thank you Aayusha! 💜
That you've let go of your karela-hate and embraced the vegetable proves you're a far better person than me. 😬
#TeamNeverKarela for life.
Hahahah, never say never Rohan! #truestory
Slice the karela thinly. Rub salt and haldi and deep fry till crisp. This is the Bengali korola bhaaja which my US based brother loves to have with a chilled glass of Coke whenever he comes home.😁
This sounds delicious! Gonna try soon. Thank you for sharing!
My mum makes this thing called Pavakkai Pitla. BOMB.COM you must trust me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n7TkEsNRwk
Personally, I love the astringent taste of Karela (among many bitter vegetables, like turkey berry for instance). I think it's a bit of an acquired taste for sure though.
Thank you for sharing the pitla recipe. Will try soon and report back 😆
Food writing is always delicious and even better if is about Karela. Now, if you want to give yourself and award for being the most evolved, try this recipe a staple in Bengali households. 1. Pressure cook whole karelas. Mash with green chillies, mustard oil and salt. Start your meal with this and hot rice. The next recipe is a winter favourite. Diced Karelas, diced potatoes- small cubes, heat mustard oil in a kadai, add Panchphoron - once the spices crackle add the potatoes saute, add Karela saute, add green peas salt and cover. Once cooked adjust salt, a touch of sugar/jaggery powder ( in Bengal we have to balance sweet and salt like in the south we will balance salt and sour) and enjoy with hot rice and ghee. Karela is my son's favourite vegetable- has always liked even as a child. I now aided by your essay think he was a tad precocious in the gentlest kind of way. 🤭.
Thank you so much for sharing the recipes. They sound delicious and I can’t wait to try them 🙌🏾
Superb! I'm on the same journey with bitterness. Have developed a liking for black coffee. And with Kerala too, I now like it fried in batter when most of its bitterness is taken care of.
Haha, that makes two of us then! I’ve also developed a taste for black coffee in recent years but that was less shocking than warming up to karela 😆
have always loved your writing but this takes the cake! short, easy and sweet - with a ting of bitterness. A perfect cocktail.
Haha, a perfect cocktail indeed! Thanks for the kind words. So heartening to hear, especially as I wrote this piece in jest 😆
Definitely a sign of adulthood 😁. Hated it as a kid, but will tolerate it in small amounts now. Don’t love it but don’t hate it either. And those karelas from your veggie patch look so good❤️
Haha, glad to hear it’s not just me! 😆 And thank you!
The best ode to 'karela' so far!
Haha! Thank you 😆
Loved reading this, Ila :)
Thanks Sanskriti :) Loving your updates from Cambridge. All the best!
I am that person who still says: I can eat everything except Karela! Lol my father loved Karela. He used to have it with fried onions, salt and pepper. That's it. Obviously when I tried it, I hated it. He's the only one who ate karela at home. You make me want to try Karela, Ila.
Haha! If I can start eating karela so can you 😂 Though there is really no compulsion. But I am discovering there are ways to get rid of the bitterness, and then it’s quite endurable and even enjoyable.
I'm tempted!