karela tikki recipe | bottle gourd tikki | healthy Indian tikki | karela tikki with garlic tomato chutney |
by Tarla Dalal

karela tikki recipe |bottle gourd tikki | healthy Indian tikki | karela tikki with garlic tomato chutney | with 33 amazing images

Though unpleasantly bitter, karela tops the list of diabetes-friendly foods. It contains 'gurmarin', a polypeptide that works like insulin in our body and helps to regulate blood sugar levels.

Combine karela with carrot and low-fat paneer to make these surprisingly delicious Karela Tikkis.

Moreover potatoes have been replaced with oats as binding agent. Potatoes have high glycemic index and hence have been avoided in these Karela Tikkis for Diabetes. Oats, on the other hand, contain ‘beta-glucan’ which are also known to help manage diabetes.

All the veggies used in these Bitter Gourd Tikkis add a dose of fiber, which too help to control blood sugar levels.

In all, these Karela Tikkis are a perfect snack for Diabetics. With these tikkis, you will overcome the notion that karela is extremely bitter. All the flavour enhancers like lemon juice, coriander and green chilli paste show their magic very well.

Serve Karela Tikkis with diabetic-friendly Garlic Tomato Chutney or Mint and Onion Chutney.

Enjoy how to make karela tikki recipe |bottle gourd tikki | healthy Indian tikki | karela tikki with garlic tomato chutney with detailed step by step photos and video below.

Karela Tikkis, Bitter Gourd Tikki Recipe

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Karela Tikkis, Bitter Gourd Tikki Recipe recipe - How to make Karela Tikkis, Bitter Gourd Tikki Recipe

For Karela Tikkis
1/2 cup grated bitter gourd (karela) , unpeeled
salt to taste
3/4 cup grated carrot
3/4 cup boiled and coarsely mashed green peas
1/2 cup crumbled low fat paneer (cottage cheese)
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander (dhania)
1/2 cup quick cooking rolled oats
1 tsp green chilli paste
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp peanut oil or for greasing and cooking

For The Garlic Tomato Chutney
1 1/2 tbsp finely chopped garlic (lehsun)
1 cup finely chopped tomatoes
1 tsp oil
1/4 cup finely chopped spring onions whites
2 whole dry kashmiri red chillies , soaked and finely chopped
salt to taste
1 tbsp finely chopped coriander (dhania)
1 tbsp finely chopped spring onion greens

Method
For karela tikkis

Apply a little salt to the bitter gourd, mix well and keep aside for 2 to 3 minutes. Squeeze and keep the water aside. This water can be used as given in the handy tip.
Combine the bitter gourd, carrot, green peas, paneer, coriander, oats, green chilli paste, lemon juice and salt in a bowl and mix well.
Divide the mixture into 16 equal portions and shape each portion into 50 mm. (2”) flat round tikkis.
Heat a non-stick tava (griddle) and grease it using ¼ tsp of oil.
Place 8 karela tikkis and cook them, using ½ tsp of oil, till they turn golden brown in colour from both the sides.
Repeat step 4 and 5 to cook 8 more karela tikkis. Keep aside.

For the garlic tomato chutney

Heat the oil in a broad non-stick pan, add the garlic and spring onion whites and sauté on a medium flame for 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the red chillies, tomatoes, salt and 1 tbsp water, mix well and cook on a slow flame for 3 to 4 minutes, while stirring continuously and lightly mashing with the back of a spoon.
Switch of the flame, add the coriander and spring onion greens and mix well.

How to serve karela tikkis

Serve the karela tikkis hot with garlic tomato chutney.

Handy tips:

While grating the bitter gourd, start grating without peeling and avoid including white portion and seeds inside it.
You will benefit from drinking the water squeezed from the karela as well. To cut its bitter taste, mix with a glass of water or tomato juice.

Nutrient values per tikki

Energy

75 kcal

Protein

3.6 gm

Carbohydrates

11.5 gm

Fat

2.4 gm

Fibre

2.5 gm

Vitamin A

410.4 mcg

Vitamin C

14.5 mg

Karela Tikki (Diabetic Snack) Video of Tarla Dalal

Karela Tikkis, Bitter Gourd Tikki Recipe with step by step photos

Like Karela Tikkis to Stay Healthy

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What are Tikkis? Think starter, and tikki is one of the first options that comes to anybody’s mind! Loved by people of all age groups, tikkis are small, round or oval-shaped snacks, measuring around two or three inches in diameter. Basically, you make a dough of boiled potatoes, sprouts, dals, veggies, herbs and spices in whatever combination you like, shape them into balls, flatten them between your palms and cook them.

You can deep-fry or shallow-fry the tikkis. Each of these methods gives you a different texture. Try the Corn and Capsicum Tikki, a deep-fried delight that combines spicy capsicum with juicy corn. Paneer Tikki is one of the most popular examples of shallow-fried tikkis. This method of frying the tikkis in broad shallow pans with lesser amount of oil is especially suitable for soft and fragile tikkis as it is easier to flip over the tikkis and cook them on both sides.

You could also make healthy versions of tikkis by using oats or nachni flour to bind the ingredients in place of mashed potato. You can also hide a lot of healthy ingredients into the tikkis, ensuring that your kids enjoy consuming these and do not throw tantrums. Check out the tasty Cheese and Broccoli Tikki, which makes kids super happy to finish off their broccoli! You can tava-cook or bake the healthy tikkis instead of frying them, to retain the nutritional advantage.

However much you may master the art of making tikkis, there are some tikkis that are best had on the streets, from roadside vendors! Yes, we are talking about the ever-famous Aloo Tikki, one of the most popular Delhi street foods, loved by several generations of Indians. Hot and crisp Aloo Tikkis are to be relished right off the tava, to warm your body and soul even on a cold, rainy day! It is ideal to serve at parties, as it appeals to almost everyone and tastes best when accompanied by the cheerful banter of friends.

For Karela Tikkis

For Karela Tikkis, you first need to grate the karela (Bitter gourd). While grating the bitter gourd, start grating without peeling and avoid including white portion and seeds inside it as they are highly bitter. You will need ½ cup of grated karela.
True to its name, this vegetable is bitter. So apply a little salt to the grated bitter gourd.
Mix well using your hands. Keep aside for 2 to 3 minutes so the salt can cover the grated karela well.

Squeeze the grated karela with your fingers so as to remove the water aside. This water is not to be used in these Karela Tikkis. However you will benefit from drinking the water squeezed from the karela as well. To cut its bitter taste, mix with a glass of water or tomato juice.
Now place this grated bitter gourd in a deep bowl.
Add veggies to it, they will add on fiber and other nutrients to these Bitter Gourd Tikkis. First add the grated vitamin A rich carrot.
Add the fiber rich green peas.
Add calcium and protein rich crumbled paneer. You can grate the paneer if you wish to.

Add vitamin A and C rich flavourful herb – the fresh finely chopped coriander.
Now add another fiber rich ingredients – oats. These are for binding the Karela Cutlets. Usually bread crumbs are added to tikkis, but we have replaced it with oats which are a more nourishing options. Read All About Oats and their Nutritional Benefits.
Add green chilli paste. If the paste isn’t ready, add finely chopped green chillies.
Add the dried mango powder for the slight tang.
Finally add salt as per taste.

Mix well all the ingredients well using your fingertips.
Divide the mixture into 16 equal portions.
Shape each portion into 50 mm. (2”) flat round tikki by rolling it in between your palms.
Heat a non-stick tava (griddle) and grease it using ¼ tsp of oil.
Place 8 rolled karela tikki | bottle gourd tikki | healthy Indian tikki | on the hot and greased tava.

Cook each Bitter gourd Cutlet, using 1/2 tsp of oil, till it turns golden brown in colour from both the sides. Keep aside.

For the Garlic Tomato Chutney

For Garlic Tomato Chutney, first heat the oil in a broad non-stick pan.
Add garlic to it. You need to peel the garlic cloves and finely chop the garlic. You will need 1½ tbsp of finely chopped garlic.
Add the spring onion whites now. The spring onion whites lend a slight sweet taste to this Garlic Tomato Chutney.
Sauté the spring onions whites and garlic on a medium flame for 1 to 2 minutes.

Next add the Kashmiri red chillies. These lend a bright red colour to the Lehsun Tamatar ki Chutney. Soak 2 red chillies in warm water for 15 minutes and then finely chop them so it is easy to blend.
Then add 1 cup of finely chopped tomatoes. While chopping them, avoid the white part and discard it.
Add salt as per taste.
Add 1 tbsp of water for cooking.
Mix well with the help of a ladle.

Cook on a slow flame for 3 to 4 minutes. Keep stirring the mixture for Garlic Tomato Chutney continuously and lightly mashing with the back of a spoon. This will help in releasing juice from the tomatoes so as to get the moist chutney like consistency, as this chutney is chunky and not blended till smooth.
Switch of the flame and add the flavourful herb – coriander. Add finely chop coriander so it blends well with the mixture.
Add the spring onion greens. These add a great mouthfeel to the Lehsuni Tomato Chutney.
Mix well using a spoon.
Chunky Garlic Tomato Chutney is ready for serving with the Karela TIkkis.

For Serving Karela Tikki

Serve hot Karela Tikkis hot with fresh chunky Garlic Tomato Chutney and enjoy its taste and embrace its health benefits.

Karela Tikkis – A Nourishing Snack for Diabetes

Karela Tikkis – A Nourishing Snack for Diabetes. Karela, also called as Bitter gourd, is not a highly acceptable vegetable by many. But this Karela Tikki will probably change your opinion about this veggie. Turn to these non-fried tikkis if you do not like a subzi out of karela. While Karela Juice is often suggested for diabetics to keep blood sugar levels under check, this is a variation to opt for when you want to try something new and yet flavourful. The additional veggies – carrot and peas provide some amount of fiber, which too helps in controlling blood sugar levels. Cornflour and potatoes which have a high glycemic index and thus are not considered healthy for diabetics have been avoided completely. Instead high fiber oats and protein rich low fat paneer have been used. Both these nutrients further help to manage diabetes. Finally the tikkis have been cooked with Peanut oil, which has a good amount of MUFA (mono unsaturated fatty acids) to reduce inflammation in the body and thus prevent the onset of other chronic diseases like heart disease. Serve them green chutney and you are in for a nourishing snack option. Remember not to go overboard, 2 to 3 tikkis should suffice at snack time.