Gutti Kakarakaya | Andhra Style Stuffed Bitter Gourd Fry

Learn how to make Gutti Kakarakaya recipe with detailed step by step pictures. Andhra Style Stuffed Bitter Gourd Recipe with step-wise pictures.

Gutti Kakarakaya – Andhra Style Stuffed Baby Bitter Gourd Fry is an indulgence and one of the best ways to enjoy the otherwise bitter vegetable. Growing up, the sister and I never liked this vegetable, so however made, we would not touch it. On some Sundays, Amma used to make this special stuffed bitter gourd fry and it used to take a lot of cajoling to get us to try the vegetable, otherwise we would just eat off the stuffing! It took growing up and entering our own kitchens that we started appreciating kakarakaya and this awesomeness that is the stuffed baby bitter gourds.

Gutti Kakarakaya

In Andhra cuisine, “gutti” style of making fry recipes is quite common. Gutti means stuffed and in this Andhra Style Stuffed Bitter Gourd Fry, we stuff small, tender bitter gourds with onions and gram flour mixture. Other similar prominent recipes like Gutti Vankaya, Gutti Beerakaya, Gutti Bendakaya, Gutti Potlakaya also follow similar steps, although the stuffing can be different. Although this Gutti Kakarakaya can be made with large bitter gourds too, it tastes the best when made with either small/baby bitter gourd or tender ones.

Tips & Important Notes for Making Andhra Style Stuffed Bitter Gourd Fry

Gutti Kakarakaya is a slightly time-consuming recipe, that takes some preparation work and patience to get it to the right consistency. Follow the below notes and tips to make it perfectly at home.

First and foremost, slit the bitter gourd across without cutting it in half. We should be able to remove the seeds and stuff it.

Use a spoon or a blunt knife to remove the seeds from the bitter gourd, this gives us enough space to stuff the vegetable.

I always cook the bitter gourds in salted water until they are tender. This helps in quickly frying the vegetable and also removing some of the bitterness. This is an optional step and can be skipped too.

If you are using regular bitter gourd, peel off some off the skin making it smooth and follow the same recipe.

Fry the stuffed bitter gourd in a heavy bottomed pan over low heat for even frying.

Serving Suggestions

Gutti Kakarakaya is best served as an accompaniment to hot rice and ghee. It also goes well as a side dish with tomato pappu, charu or even curd rice. It can be prepared a day in advance and stored in an airtight container in fridge and when ready to fry, remove it and fry in hot oil. Cooked/Fried bitter gourd is best consumed the same day. Although it loses its crispness, it still tastes good.

Check out other Andhra recipes

• Andhra Style Bendakaya Vepudu
• Mamidikaya Pachadi
• Avakaya Pickle
• Dibba Rotti
• Mulakkada Charu

Gutti Kakarakaya Recipe with Step by Step Pictures

Wash and pat dry 12-15 small bitter gourds. Cut off both the ends. Make a deep slit across and using a spoon or blunt knife, remove all the seeds from within. Be careful not to cut the bitter gourds in half.

Boil the prepared bitter gourds with enough salt and water on medium flame until they are tender. Remove from heat, drain off the water and let them cool down completely.

In a mixing bowl, add ½ cup gram flour/besan, 1 large onion finely chopped, 1 teaspoon red chilli powder, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, salt as needed.

Mix well. The mixture would be lumpy.

Add few tablespoon of water to make it into a wet mixture. It should be tight.

Take a small amount of the stuffing prepared and fill tightly it into the bitter gourds. Repeat this with all the bitter gourds.

In a thick bottomed pan, heat 2 tablespoon oil for shallow frying. Fry these stuffed baby bitter gourds in batches of 4-5.

Cook on slow flame and keep turning the bitter gourds regularly to ensure all the sides are cooked.

When the stuffing looks crispy and the skin looks crispy/cooked, remove from heat. Repeat this with rest of the bitter gourds. Add extra 1-2 tablespoon oil if needed.

Serve hot with rice and ghee with a side of tomato pappu or charu.

Recipe Notes

• Removing the seeds from the bitter gourds give enough space for the stuffing and most of the bitterness would be removed.
• Instead of shallow frying, it can be deep fried for quick preparation.
• Adjust spices as per preference.
• Cook on low heat for longer time to ensure the bitter gourd is cooked or else, it will char from outside while being raw on the inside.
• Onions are optional, but I like the textural difference they give to the stuffing.

Recipe Card

📖 Recipe

Gutti Kakarakaya | Andhra Style Stuffed Bitter Gourd Fry

Ramya

Learn how to make Gutti Kakarakaya recipe with detailed step by step pictures. Andhra Style Stuffed Bitter Gourd Recipe with step-wise pictures.

4.5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Andhra Cuisine

Servings 4 people

MEASUREMENT

1 cup = 250ml, 1 tablespoon = 15ml, 1 teaspoon = 5ml

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 12-15 Small Bitter Gourds 4-5 Tender Long Bitter Gourds
• ▢ ½ cup Gram Flour/Besan
• ▢ 1 Large Onion Finely Chopped
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• ▢ 3-4 tablespoon Oil to fry
• ▢ Salt as needed
• ▢ Water as needed

COOK MODEPrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

 

• Wash and pat dry 12-15 small bitter gourds. Cut off both the ends. Make a deep slit across and using a spoon or blunt knife, remove all the seeds from within. Be careful not to cut the bitter gourds in half.
  
• Boil the prepared bitter gourds with enough salt and water on medium flame until they are tender. Remove from heat, drain off the water and let them cool down completely.
  
• In a mixing bowl, add ½ cup gram flour/besan, 1 large onion finely chopped, 1 teaspoon red chilli powder, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, salt as needed.
  
• Mix well. The mixture would be lumpy.
  
• Add few tablespoon of water to make it into a wet mixture. It should be tight.
  
• Take a small amount of the stuffing prepared and fill it tightly into the bitter gourds. Repeat this with all the bitter gourds.
  
• In a thick bottomed pan, heat 2 tablespoon oil for shallow frying. Fry these stuffed baby bitter gourds in batches of 4-5.
  
• Cook on slow flame and keep turning the bitter gourds regularly to ensure all the sides are cooked.
  
• When the stuffing looks crispy and the skin looks crispy/cooked, remove from heat. Repeat this with rest of the bitter gourds. Add extra 1-2 tablespoon oil if needed.
  
• Serve hot with rice and ghee with a side of tomato pappu or charu.
  

Notes

• Removing the seeds from the bitter gourds give enough space for the stuffing and most of the bitterness would be removed.
• Instead of shallow frying, it can be deep fried for quick preparation.
  Adjust spices as per preference.
• Cook on low heat for longer time to ensure the bitter gourd is cooked or else, it will char from outside while being raw on the inside.
• Onions are optional, but I like the textural difference they give to the stuffing.

Keyword Side Dishes for Rice

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Note - This recipe was first published on 19-November-2015 and has been updated on 29-May-2021.