As with all pickles this one too depends on the quality of the raw material for the final result. So pick your karelas carefully.
Choose bitter gourds which are light green or even whitish in colour. Dark green denote extra bitterness and are older with more seeds . They are not suitable for pickling. Do not pick yellowish karelas.
Ingredients
500 gms karela /bitter gourd
400 ml vinegar
20 gms rai / mustard seed, ground fine in 2 tsp vinegar
2 " fresh ginger, peeled and chopped fine
5 cloves of garlic, minced
50 gms dried red chillies
5 gms haldi / turmeric powder
20 gms sugar
125 gms salt.
Prepare the bitter gourd by scraping the peel lightly, take out the seeds and cut into 1.5 inch X 1/2 inch strips.
Cook the gourd in half the vinegar. Add all the other ingredients to the vinegar and cook till well blended. Remove from heat.
Heat the rest of the vinegar and pour over the cooked ingredients. mix well and keep in a glass or ceramic jar.
When the vingar has soaked into the gourd pieces it is ready to be used.
Keeps for two months.
Courtesy: Usha's Pickle Digest.
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