My sweet and spicy Karela and Sweet Potato curry recipe is a delicious and healthy bitter gourd recipe! A unique vegetarian sabzi dish and weeknight meal for you and your family.

This Karela and Sweet Potato Curry is…
- Vegetarian
- Super nutritious
- Gluten free
- A unique way to cook with karela, also known as bitter gourd
My childhood enemy
I went to the Indian food market and bumped into my childhood enemy. This. The Karelu. It’s a bitter melon, aka the PTSD-trigger vegetable for Asian kids. So I brought four home to see if I could erase my trauma by making them edible.
I knew I’d need a sweet potato to help me.
What are karela?

Karela, also known as bitter melon or bitter gourd, is a tropical and subtropical vine widely cultivated for its edible fruit. It belongs to the same family as cucumbers, squash, and pumpkins.
Spoiler: It’s not sweet the rest of its family members!
What does karela taste like?
As its name suggests, it has a distinctively bitter taste, which is a key characteristic of the vegetable.
What are the different types of karela?

There are different varieties of karela, but two common ones are:
Indian bitter melon: This variety is typically smaller, with pointed ends and a dark green, jagged, spiky skin. I always thought they looked like crocodiles!
Chinese bitter melon: This type is longer, a paler green, and has smoother, wart-like bumps. I find this one less bitter than the Indian one.
Karela is a staple in many cuisines, particularly in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. It’s often used in curries, stir-fries, and soups.
So if it tastes like medicine… Is karela healthy?

Karela is known for its potential health benefits and has been used in traditional medicine for centuries.
It’s rich in nutrients like Vitamin C and Vitamin A, and some studies suggest it may help regulate blood sugar levels, among other things.
How to remove bitterness from karela


This is… a process.
I’ve always been told by my elders that the goodness is in the skin, so I don’t peel it off even though it looks like a crocodile.
Scrape out the seeds and pith and chop the karela thinly because big bites of this make me heave.
If you like, you can indeed peel off the skin.
Salt the karela
Salt them heavily. With sea salt, or salt from the tears of children who were forced to eat these growing up. This draws out some of the bitterness.
I then wash, squeeze and blanch the karela in two changes of turmeric water.
How long does it take to cook karela?

It takes about 40 minutes to simmer so I change the water after about 20 minutes.
This is as much bitterness as I can draw out without physically taking them to my local jet wash.
Adding sweetness


To balance the cursed vegetable, we have a friendly sweet potato. After it’s roasted, it’ll lift the intense, medicinal flavour of the karela.
For a similar reason, I caramelise a mountain of caramelised onions, even though I still can’t chop them without crying. That’s how important the sweetness is in a dish cooked with karela, or bitter melon.
Adding spice


We’re cooking in ghee and adding as many sweet, sour and savoury elements as we can. It’s all part of the plan to undermine the flavour of the karela.
You’ll need cumin, fennel seeds and cashews. Caramelise the onions with a touch of ginger and then add fresh tomatoes, ground cinnamon, jaggery (unrefined cane sugar), chilli powder, turmeric and salt.
Once the masala is cooked, add the roasted sweet potato and karela. Sauté for a few minutes and then… more distractions. Top with crispy fried onions, the kind you use in biryani and then fresh coriander.
Try my Karela and Sweet Potato Curry recipe (below)

Now, this really is the most I can do to help such a wretched vegetable and since there’s I maxed out the sweet, sour and spicy flavours, plus the sweet potatoes act as a textural buffer so the whole thing isn’t as sad as karela nu shaak of the olden days.
So if like me, you want to grow up and eat your vegetables, try cooking karela this way. I promise it’s not as bad as what we remember.
Karela and Sweet Potato Curry Recipe | How to make Karela Sabzi with Sweet Potatoes
Karela and Sweet Potato Curry

Karela (bitter gourd) cooked with sweet potatoes, caramelised onions, butter and spices. This fresh take on Gujarati-style karela nu shaak (dry karela sabzi) is great for those who find the traditional methods for cooking karela too bitter. Enjoy with chapatis.
Ingredients
- 4 karela
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 large sweet potato (or 2 medium), any colour - I used white flesh sweet potato
- 2 tsp oil
- 3 tbsp ghee
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 10 cashews
- 2 medium brown onions
- 1/2 tsp minced ginger
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp jaggery
- 1 1/2 tsp chilli powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp salted butter, to stir in at the end
- Handful crispy fried onions
- Handful chopped fresh coriander
Instructions
- Wash the karela well and trim both tips. Cut in half lengthways and use a spoon to scrape out the seeds and pith.
- Slice the karela into half moons, about 3mm thick. Place the karela slices in a bowl and toss with 2 tsp salt. Allow to stand for 20 minutes, while you prepare the sweet potato and onions.
- Peel the sweet potato and cut into 1.5-cm chunks. Transfer to a roasting dish and coat with 2 tsp oil. Roast at 200ºC fan/400ºF for 15-20 minutes, or until slightly golden brown and cooked through. Set aside.
- Peel and slice the onions, about 1.5mm-thick. Set aside.
- Place the karela in a sieve or colander. Wash thoroughly under cold running water for 2-3 minutes, turning and squeezing to remove as much of the salt as possible. Drain and squeeze again, to remove as much bitter liquid as you can.
- Fill a saucepan with hot kettle water. Add the karela and 1/2 tsp turmeric. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Drain and return to the pan, along with another batch of fresh hot kettle water. Simmer again for 20 minutes, or until tender. The total cooking time for the karela will be around 40 minutes in a pan set over medium heat. Drain well and set aside.
- Place the ghee in a large non-stick pan or wok set over medium heat. Once the ghee has melted, add the cumin, fennel seeds and cashews. Sauté for a minute and then add the onions and ginger. Cook over a medium-low heat stirring very frequently for 20-30 minutes, until the onions have caramelised.
- Add the tomatoes, cinnamon, jaggery, chilli powder, turmeric and salt. Stir well and cook for 5 minutes.
- Tip in the sweet potatoes and karela, along with the butter. Stir well, cooking over medium heat for 4-5 minutes.
- Garnish with crispy fried onions and fresh coriander.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 223Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 1016mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 4gSugar: 10gProtein: 3g
Love Sanjana
If you like this, you’ll enjoy my recipe for Okra and Potato Fries Curry
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