Growing, Harvesting & Uses Of Karela (Bitter Gourd).

After having successfully grown the spiky bitter gourd with the seeds brought back from Fraser's Hill, and having enjoyed a good harvest, I was very encouraged to grow the next batch. I germinated the seeds I have collected from some ripen fruits from my own plants after the old plants were pulled out. They are easy to grow and easy to take care. If you are interested to read about what has been shared in my previous post concerning the spiky bitter gourd, you can click here and also click here for the Wild Indian Bitter Gourd post.

Some of the common names for bitter gourd are bitter melon, bitter squash, balsam pear or karela. Its scientific name is Momordica charantia.

The spiky bitter gourd seedlings are ready to be transferred to the big pots.

Indian bitter gourd is very much smaller than the Chinese bitter gourd and it is much more bitter than the Chinese bitter gourd.

The Indian bitter gourd or karela commonly sold in the market or stores are rounder, shorter with smooth ridges. The ones growing in my garden are longer and have jagged or spiky ridges.

You can see the spiky ridges and this fruit was about 8 inches long.

I get to harvest the karela or bitter gourds every 2 to 3 days. I have to watch for the colour to change from dark green to light green. Once it started to turn light green, it is harvested to prevent it from ripening further.

These bitter gourds have many health and medicinal benefits. Sometimes I will boil soup using these bitter gourd with pork ribs or chicken, carrot and goji berries or wolf berries or kei chee in Cantonese.

Besides soup, I also sliced them finely for frying egg omelette. I have also used them to fry with spicy prawn paste (sambal belacan).

Sometimes I will boil these bitter gourds with a little goji berries and red dates in water to drink.

The raw juice of these bitter gourds is claimed to be effective in lowering blood sugar. Sometimes, I will juice these bitter gourds with green apples for hubby and myself.

Look after each other so that not one of you

will fail to find God's best blessings.

Watch out that no bitterness takes root among you,

for as it springs up it causes deep trouble,

hurting many in their spiritual lives.

(Hebrews 12:15, The Living Bible-TLB)

Simple Ways Of Cooking Spiky Bitter Gourds.

Yesterday I did a post on "Growing Spiky Bitter Gourd in my garden" and you can click here to read if you have missed it. The fruits did not mature all at the same time and it was a good thing that the harvest was spaced out with 1 or 2 fruits at a time.

With freshly harvested greens from my garden, I have no excuse not to cook. Today I share with you how I use/cook my freshly harvested spiky bitter gourds.

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Dinner #1 - Simple Home cooked Dinner For 2 people.

1.1. Bitter Gourd Omelette. Lightly stir fry the finely sliced bitter gourd, sprinkle some salt & pepper and pour in the beaten eggs.

1.2. Roasted pig trotter and salted vegetable soup.

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Dinner #2 - Simple Home cooked Dinner For 2 people.

2.1. Sambal belacan four angled beans, spiky bitter gourd + minced meat. Stir fry the pounded chili and prawn paste in a little oil. Add in the minced pork, stir fry and then add in the 4 angled beans and bitter gourd. Add in a little water, simmer till cooked.

2.2. Chicken + potatoes + carrot + tomatoes + onions soup.

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The following photos from Ho Yan Hor Museum are for joining Tuesday's Treasures & Image-in-ing.

This was how we washed our clothes in the old days. A metal basin, a wooden scrubbing board, a metal water scoop and a small wooden stool to sit on.

Wooden antique staircase, handrails and floor boards.

Wooden antique writing table, rattan chair and a Chinese calculator (Abacus) on the table.

Linking to Tuesday's Treasures & Image-in-ing.

So I am not writing to you as those who need to know the truth,

but I warn you as those who can discern the difference

between true and false.

(1 John 2:21. The Living Bible-TLB)

Growing Spiky Bitter Gourd In My Garden.

I first saw this spiky bitter gourd or bitter melon in Fraser's Hill about 3 months ago. I haven't seen this spiky bitter gourd before and instead of being deterred by the weird spiky appearance, I got curious and was attracted to it. The plant was growing along the fence and I found a small over-ripe fruit on the ground. I picked it up hoping to find some seeds in it for me to take home to germinate. Once we reached the bungalow we were staying in, I opened the fruit and I was very happy to find 3 precious matured seeds inside.

These were my first 2 fruits harvested from my garden, from the plants germinated from the seeds I brought back from Fraser's Hill. I waited for the first fruit to ripen to get good quality seeds for future germination.

2 seedlings germinated from the seeds brought back from Fraser's Hill.

I planted the seedlings in a big pot. I have to tie temporary strings for the plants to climb as they grow.

It was exciting to see the pretty bright yellow flower and the thin long fruit forming.

The yellow flower has dried up and waiting for the fruit to grow.

Pretty green leaves.

The young fruits are dark green in colour.

So happy to see the plants bearing more fruits.

Bitter gourds or bitter melons are very popular in Asian countries. When I was young, I do not eat bitter gourds because I found them very bitter. But as I grow older, I later acquired the liking for bitter gourds and now I love them.

According to the elderly people, anything bitter is good for health. Bitter gourds have many health benefits. They are commonly used for treating diabettes and for regulating blood sugar level.

Bitter gourds are low in calories and they are also rich in high fiber and vitamins A, C & etc.

Since I planted them in a flower pot, I didn't expect them to be so fruitful!

The fruits are more bitter when they are green. As the fruits grow more matured or ripen with yellow or orange colour, the bitter taste will be slightly reduced.

I used normal garden soil with good drainage. I water the plants once a day. If the weather is very hot, then I will water them twice a day. I feed them with fertilizers about once every 2 weeks. For this round, the plants didn't encountered any pests problem.

When the colour of the fruits changed to a lighter shade or light yellow, I harvested the fruits from the plant. It will remain fresh if kept in the fridge for a few days to a week. But the colour will change from green to yellow if kept too long in the fridge.

The longest fruit harvested from my plants (grown in pots) is about 9 inches long. The ones I saw in Fraser's Hill are much longer. probably about a foot long.

A closer look to see the spikes on the fruit.

Compared to the other smaller specie found in the local market, this spiky specie is more bitter. If you want to reduce the bitter taste, you can salt it for a few minutes after slicing and then rinse off the salt before cooking them. You can also blanch the slices in hot water for a few seconds, then place them in ice water before cooking.

The fruits have to be cooked. They can be roasted, deep fried, stuffed, stir fried, cooked in curries, in omelettes, soups or steamed. In their raw state, they can be juiced.

Once the fruits are matured, the membrane covering the seeds will turn red.

These are removed from the fruits. I removed and discarded the red membrane called arils and kept the dried seeds for germinating. 

Some parts of the fruits are beginning to turn yellow or orange. 

For cooking, I sliced the fruits thinly. I didn't salt or blanch the slices because we didn't mind the bitter taste.

These seeds were collected from the fruits and they will be used for future germination. Some of these seeds will be given to my gardening friends who have already booked them.

Plant the good seeds of righteousness,

and you will reap a crop of my love;

plow the hard ground of your hearts,

for now is the time to seek the Lord,

that he may come and shower salvation upon you.

(Hosea 10:12, The Living Bible-TLB)

Breakfast & Visit To The Flora Garden At Fraser's Hill.

The first night at Fraser's Hill was cold because of the rain. I did get a few hours of sleep and I was up very early the next morning. I went to the hall to do some reading until the others were awake. Then we put on our walking shoes and went for our morning walk. We had a very interesting walk, exploring the wild plants along the roadsides. That will be in another post. We returned to the bungalow just in time for breakfast.

 The dining table was all set up for breakfast.

 Big boys and girls need to wash up before breakfast.

 Toasted bread with butter and homemade orange jam.

 My plate of 2 sausages and 2 over-medium eggs.

We had hot coffee with our breakfast.

After a hearty breakfast, we were ready for our outing.

 There was a light rain and it slowed to a drizzle as we drove out to the little town.

 Passing by the clock tower covered with creeper plants in the town centre.

 After a short drive, we reached the Flora Garden at about 9.35 am.

Fraser's Edible Garden

The place was quiet since it was a weekday.

We got to see this vegetable pear plant which is a climbing vine.

 This green vegetable pear is called Chayote or Mirliton.

White Radish patch.

Cauliflower

First time I learned to handpicked these fresh and sweet strawberries.

Saw a few of this long and spiky bitter gourd or melon vine growing on a fence.

Can someone please confirm whether this is edible?

Ginger

Orangey Red African Daisy

Lavender plants

Fir Seedlings?

Big Pink Hibiscus flower

 We left behind our footprints but we took more than photographs. We left with plastic bags of edibles from the garden. We bought Chayote vegetable pears, white radish, ginger and strawberries.

 Then Peter began to mention all that he and

the other disciples had left behind.

"We've given up everything to follow you," he said.

(Mark 10:28, The Living Bible-TLB)

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The following photos are for joining Saturday's Critters. 

 Back on the grounds of the bungalow, we noticed this big ant on the concrete path.

 We zoomed in for a shot of the ant.

 We met 3 black dogs on our way out for the morning walk. 

 They were taken up with their own business.

Looked like this one was having some disagreement with the other 2 dogs.

 This looked like the leader of the pack.

Linking to Saturday's Critters.