Delicious Pakistani-Style Karela Keema is a beloved dish among food lovers. While it may seem intimidating due to its acquired taste, there's no need to worry! This blog post will guide you through the process, helping you create a flavorful Karela Keema that will surprise and satisfy your taste buds.
WHAT IS KARELA KEEMA?
Delicious Pakistani-Style Karela Keema, a cherished dinner dish from North Indian and Pakistani cuisine, combines ground beef with Bitter Melon. Though Bitter Melon is naturally bitter, the key is knowing how to reduce its bitterness, and I'll guide you through the process.
This unique recipe involves special techniques for cutting and cooking the bitter melon, ensuring a flavorful and enjoyable Indian/Pakistani main dish recipe.
This recipe comes from my husband's paternal grandmother, and he loved it because she always knew how to remove the bitterness from the Karela Keema. Although this Pakistani/Indian recipe has an acquired taste, similar to Kaleji and Beef Paye, he enjoyed it immensely.
STEPS TO COOK KARELA KEEMA
- Cut the bitter melon properly.
- Massage some turmeric powder and salt on bitter melon and leave.
- Massage, wash and squeeze the bitter melon.
- Boil the bitter melon and drain the water.
- Dry and fry bitter melon on both sides.
- Make the ground beef mixture.
- Mix the bitter melon with the ground beef.
INGREDIENTS
- Bitter Melon- The most crucial ingredient in this recipe. I have shown you how to cut and how to get rid of the bitterness completely. It's a process but so worth it.
- Ground beef- For the recipe 80/20 ground beef is required. In this recipe, ground chicken and ground mutton can easily be substituted.
- Turmeric powder and salt- be added to the bitter melon helps gets rid of the bitterness.
HOW TO CUT THE BITTER MELON?
HOW TO GET RID OF THE BITTERNESS OF BITTER MELON?
HOW TO COOK KARELA KEEMA?
TIPS
- Fennel seeds should be crushed into powder form.
- Just hand crush the carrot seeds.
- It extremely crucial that you massage in the turmeric powder and salt in order to get rid of the bitterness of the Melon bitter.
- Rinse the bitter melon with water properly and squeeze out the water.
- Don't forget to boil and fry the bitter melon.
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Let's Make Karela Keema!!!
Savory Pakistani Karela Keema
Ingredients
Bitter melons
- 3 bitter melons sliced
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- water
- olive oil
Keema
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 lbs ground beef
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds crush it until it's powder form.
- 1 tsp carrom seeds roughly hand crush it. (ajwein)
- 4 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 tbsp yogurt
- 1 green pepper roughly chopped
- 1½ tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp Garam Masala Powder
whole spices
- 3 cloves
- 3 green cardamom
- 5 black peppercorns
Powdered spices
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp red chili flakes
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt or as needed
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
Garnish
- 2 tbsp cilantro
- fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Grind the fennel seeds, set aside.
Bitter Melon
- Cut up the Bitter Melons ends and slice it in little round pieces. (see video.)
- In a bowl, place the bitter melons pieces, add 1 tbsp salt and 1 tsp turmeric powder.
- Massage it in then let it rest for 15 minutes.
- Add water to a bowl, add the bitter melon pieces in.
- Rinse it and squeeze all the water out. (see video.)
- Now add water in a pot then let the water warm up.
- Add bitter melon pieces to the water and let the boil come to a boil.
- After it comes to boil let it boil for 2 minutes.
- Add ¼ cup of oil to a fry pan on medium heat.
- Now add the bitter melon pieces and let it fry on side for 5-7 minutes.
- Take them out set aside.
Keema
- Add oil to a pot on medium heat and let it heat up.
- Now add onion and sauté it until brown.
- Add ginger garlic paste.
- Now add the whole spices.
- Add ground beef, break that down.
- Now add yogurt and mix well.
- Add powder spices along with fennel powder and carrom seeds.
- Mix well and mix in the green pepper.
- Cover the lid and let it cook on medium-low for 5-7 minutes.
- Uncover the pot.
- Mixed in the fried bitter melon.
- Mix well.
- Still the heat is on medium-low.
- Cook it for 1-2 minutes.
- Add some lemon juice, 1 tbsp water, and mix well.
- Place the lid on the pot, let it cook for 5 minutes on low heat.
- Uncover the pot.
- Turn off the stove.
- Sprinkle fresh cilantro on top.
- Serve it hot. Enjoy with fresh Chapati.
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