Karela Keema
کریلے قیمہ
Karela keema pairs crisp-fried rings of bitter gourd with a dry, well-browned beef mince. It is a classic summer lunch in Punjab, eaten with roti, and even people who avoid karela often like it this way. The secret is in the prep: salting and squeezing the slices draws out much of the bitter juice, and frying them before they meet the mince gives them a nutty, almost sweet edge.
- ⏱ Total: 1 hr 25 min
- Prep: 40 min
- Cook: 45 min
- Medium
- Serves 4
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Scrape the rough skin off the karelay lightly with a knife, slice them into 5 mm rounds and remove any large, hard seeds. Rub the slices with 2 teaspoons of salt and leave for 30 minutes, until they look wet and have shed a pool of green juice.
Squeeze the slices firmly by the handful to press out as much bitter juice as you can, then rinse once under running water and squeeze again. Pat them dry on a cloth.
Heat the oil in a over medium heat. Fry the karela slices for 8–10 minutes, turning them, until they shrink and turn dark green with golden-brown edges. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and set aside.
In the same oil, fry the onions for 7–8 minutes until golden. Add the ginger and garlic paste and stir for a minute, then add the mince and fry on high heat, breaking up the lumps, for 6–8 minutes until it changes colour and its water dries up.
Add the tomatoes, salt, chili powder, turmeric and coriander powder. Do the for 8–10 minutes, stirring and scraping, until the tomatoes melt into the mince and the oil separates at the edges.
Fold the fried karela back in with the green chilies. Cover and cook on low heat for 10 minutes so the flavours mingle and the karela turns tender.
Sprinkle over the garam masala and coriander, toss once and serve hot with roti or paratha.
Kitchen notes
Do not skip the salting and squeezing. It removes a large share of the bitter juice, and it is the step that turns karela from harsh to pleasant.
Because the karela keeps some of its salt, season the mince lightly and taste at the end before adding more.
Young, small, dark green karelay with soft seeds are the least bitter. Avoid ones that are turning yellow.
A summer favourite
Karela is a summer vegetable in Pakistan, and karela keema is one of the most common ways to cook it. Mince brings richness and a savoury depth that balances the bitterness, while the onions, cooked until golden, add a gentle sweetness. Many homes make it as a dry dish, so it is eaten with roti or paratha rather than rice, often with a bowl of plain yogurt on the side.
Taming the bitterness
Karela is meant to be a little bitter; the goal is to soften it, not remove it entirely. Three steps do the work. First, scrape and seed: the bumpy skin and the large, hard seeds hold a lot of the bitterness. Second, salt and squeeze: salt pulls the bitter juice out of the slices, and squeezing them firmly by the handful gets rid of it. A quick rinse removes excess salt. Third, fry: frying the slices until their edges turn golden caramelises them and gives them a nutty taste that works with the mince.
Some cooks also soak the salted slices in a little vinegar or add tamarind to the masala. Both work, but with good, young karelay they are rarely needed.
Variations
- Stuffed karela: the same mince, cooked fairly dry, is stuffed into whole, scraped and salted karelay, tied with thread and fried slowly.
- Karela gosht: use cubed mutton cooked tender with a little water instead of mince.
- With potatoes: a few cubes of potato fried along with the karela stretch the dish and soften its edge further.
Storing and serving
Karela keema keeps for 3 days in the fridge and tastes even better the next day once the flavours settle. Reheat it in a pan over low heat with a splash of water. It also packs well in a lunch box with paratha, since it has no runny gravy.
Questions people ask
How do I make karela less bitter?
Scrape the skin, remove the hard seeds, salt the slices for 30 minutes, then squeeze and rinse them. Frying them until golden removes more bitterness, and a teaspoon of tamarind pulp or a little sugar in the masala balances what is left.
Can I use mutton or chicken mince?
Yes. Mutton mince works the same way. Chicken mince cooks faster, so fry it for only 4–5 minutes before the tomatoes go in.
Should I peel karela completely?
No. Just scrape off the bumpy ridges lightly. Peeling it bare makes the slices mushy, and a light scraping is enough to cut the bitterness.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 420
- Protein
- 25 g
- Fat
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 12 g
