Potato Stuffed Pavakkai ( Bitter Gourd, Karela )

          Not many people like bitter gourd, but I know people who really love it too, my family lies in between, as long as I make something with it which doesn't taste very bitter, they will have it. Today's dish is again my friend's recipe, I loved it, the first time I tasted it, before this dish, I've never seen baby bitter gourds which are slightly bigger ( the size of a lemon ), I have used only the very small ones ( you can check out the recipe here ). I think, this variety is available in Bangalore and cities in Tamilnadu that are closer to Bangalore. Anyway, coming to the recipe, we stuff the bitter gourds with a potato filling and deep fry them, of course, I agree this is not the healthy way of eating this vegetable, but you can make this as special dish for an occasion. They came out so crispy and delicious, would go very well with rice and dal or sambar saadam, but it tasted it so good, I can have this as an appetizer too..

Need To Have

• Baby Bitter Gourds ( slightly bigger ones ) - 15
• Potatoes - 4 medium
• Besan Flour/Gram Flour - 3 tablespoons
• Rice Flour - 3 tablespoons
• Fennel Seed Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Red Chilly Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 10
• Salt to taste

Method

          Wash and trim the edges of the bitter gourds and cut them into halves, scoop out the inner seedy part and soak them in salted water for half an hour.

          Boil and mash the potatoes, add the chilly, fennel seeds and turmeric powders, besan flour and rice flour and some salt and mix it very well.

          Stuff the bitter gourds with the potato mixture, you'll have some stuffing left. Heat some oil and deep fry the stuffed bitter gourd pieces.

          Fry them till golden brown, remove and drain the excess oil.

          Heat a little oil, add the mustard seeds and curry leaves, when it starts spluttering, add the leftover potato stuffing and keep sauteing, till it gets scrambled.

          Once it's scrambled and crumbly, add the fried bitter gourds, mix and serve.

Note
While stuffing, press it well, so that it doesn't come out while deep frying.
You can try to shallow fry, but in that case, cook the bitter gourds a little before stuffing, then fry it, I haven't tried this, it's a suggestion, but I am planning to try it out, the next time I make this, and I'll surely update this page with the result.