Keema karela – lamb mince with bitter gourd

We love karela (bitter gourd) in our home. But we usually prepare it in one of two ways… cooked with yoghurt and onions, or stuffed and fried. A chance discussion led me to realise that karela is also cooked with mince (this seems to be a Pakistani dish). Combining two of my favourite ingredients? I was hooked! So on a Sunday spent mostly lazing around, I decided to get up and cook this dish.

Ingredients

• 500g lamb mince
• 2 medium size karela (bitter gourd)
• 1 medium red onion, chopped fine
• 2 small tomatoes, chopped fine
• 2 green chillies, chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 2 tbsp yoghurt
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1″ stick cinnamon
• 2 pods green cardamom
• 2 cloves
• 1/2 star anise
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp coriander powder, heaped
• 2 tsp Nihari masala (or use garam masala)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1-2 tsp cracked black pepper
• Salt, to taste
• A few squeezes of lemon juice (optional)
• Oil or ghee
• Fresh coriander leaves, to garnish

Method

1. Cut the karela in half, lengthwise, then into 1/2″ thick half-moon slices. Optional: scoop out all the seeds. If you don’t want too much bitterness, liberally apply salt to the slices and keep in a bowl for 15-20 minutes, then wash and drain.
2. In a kadhai (or wok), heat some oil or ghee. Add the whole spices (cumin seeds, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf and star anise), and when the cumin seeds start to change colour, add the onions and green chillies and fry on medium heat.
3. When the onions start to caramelise and go beyond the soft, translucent phase, add the mince and mix it with the onions. Make sure to break up any lumps.
4. Fry until the meat starts to brown. Then add the powdered spices, pepper and salt and continue to fry. Keep stirring so that the meat and spices don’t catch and burn on the bottom of the vessel. Add a little bit of water from time to time if needed.
5. After frying for a couple of minutes, add the tomatoes, yoghurt and 1/2 cup of water. Mix well, bring to the boil, then cover and turn down the heat to low. Simmer this for 10-15 minutes.
6. In the meantime, heat some oil in a frying pan and fry the karela slices until they are cooked and the edges are starting to turn crispy. Drain then from the oil and add the pieces to the mince.
7. Check the seasoning and mix in the lemon juice.
8. Garnish with the fresh coriander leaves and serve.

Tagged: bitter gourd, karela, keema, Keto Friendly, lamb, mince