MUDDA KAKARAKAYA, bitter gourds stuffed with nutty powders, loads of garlic and basic spices, roasted until crispy. A beautiful amalgamation of spice, salt, sweet, sour and bitter which truly depicts the flavors and palate of Telangana cuisine.
As an anti-bitter gourd person once upon a time turned into bitter gourd fan after tasting this dish trust me you need to try this recipe. I have succeeded in turning at least a dozen people into Bitter gourd fans after I made this dish for them. So I highly recommend you to try this.
This dish have special place in my life, as it’s an heirloom and passed down recipe by my Paternal grandmother. There is a nostalgia in foods that are associated with family and specially when you have learnt something from your grandparents. I was fortunate enough to have the taste of food that is cooked on wood-fired or dung-fired stoves.
Even sharing these moments with you have awaken all those beautiful memories when I visited my Dad’s native place which is a small town in the countryside where things are quite old fashioned and still follows centuries old traditions. It’s a religious place for us, known by “SADASHIVANAGAR”, a small town in KAMAREDDY district of Telangana state. Whenever we visit my dad’s native place a wholesome delicious meal of all traditional things are cooked upon wooden fire stove, starting from breads like Jonna rotte, dals, curries, rice(cooked in clay pot), and then comes the star which is our family favorite “MUDDA KAKARAKAYA” . It’s feast for us as we get linger on those beautiful flavors and earthy aroma.
I can still remember the jittering and sizzling sound of these bitter gourds on hot embers. Which are just stuffed with freshly pound powders of sesame seeds, peanuts and coconut powder, basic Indian spices and the secret ingredient “Garlic”. I wish I could travel back in time and hug my Nanamma(Paternal grandma) tightly and share my love for food prepared by her and the recipes shared by her.
Is MUDDA KAKARAKAYA vegan?
Yes this dish is completely vegan friendly and healthy. Only plant based ingredients are used in this recipe.
Let’s get into the recipe but before that Checkout more traditional and vegetarian Telangana recipes here.
MUDDA KAKARAKAYA
Ingredients
- 8 Bitter gourds
- 1 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Salt
For stuffing
- ½ cup Roasted peanut powder
- ½ cup Roasted sesame seed powder
- ½ cup Dry coconut grated
- 2½ tbsp Red chilli powder
- Salt to taste
- 1 tsp Turmeric powder
- 3 tbsp Tamarind pulp
- 3 tbsp Jaggery powder
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 12 Garlic cloves
- ¼ cup Oil
Instructions
Prepping
- Wash and dry pat the bitter gourds. Make a slit, remove the pit and keep aside.
- Now sprinkle some salt and turmeric powder in the slit bitter gourds and let the rest for 30 mins.
- Let's make a stuffing now, take a mixing bowl add roasted peanut powder, roasted sesame seed powder, grated dry coconut, salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder, jaggery powder, tamarind pulp and give it a good mix.
- In a mortar and pestle, add garlic cloves, cumin seeds and pound them to a coarse paste. Add this pounded garlic to the stuffing mixture.
- Now give a good mix to the stuffing, adjust the spices as per your palate and keep aside until the stuffed bitter gourds are ready.
Stuffing the bitter gourds
- Take the slit bitter gourds and stuff the prepared mixture generously and tie it tightly with a twine, keep aside on a plate.
- Repeat the process for the remaining bitter gourds and set them ready for roasting.
Roasting on embers/hot coal
- Place the stuffed bitter gourds on the embers/hot coal and keep flipping them and roast until they turn golden brown and crispy.
Roasting them on stove top Pan
- Heat a skillet, add ¼ cup of oil, place the stuffed bitter gourds and roast them by flipping intermittently.
- Roast them until they turn golden brown and crispy.
Roasting by baking the stuffed bitter gourds
- Preheat the oven at 185°C/365°F. Place the stuffed bitter gourds on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Bake the stuffed bitter gourds for 40-45 mins until they turn golden brown and crispy.
- Serve warm stuffed bitter gourds with hot rice or flatbread, accompanied with dal.
Notes
- You can also substitute the jaggery powder with sugar.
- If you're roasting the bitter gourds on stove top pan, precook the bitter gourds for 5 minutes and later stuff them and cook again until golden brown and crispy.
- You can substitute the tamarind pulp with lemon juice too.
