An unsuccessful attempt to introduce a new ingredient: Karela.

Right: I love bitter foods. Love them all. Since I first had karela, the knobbled bitter gourd, in Sindh Province, Pakistan, eleven years ago, I have been hooked.It's a funny-looking thing, the karela. The size of a medium courgette, it is dark green and with a lot of warts! And man, it IS bitter. But, in hot countries, this bitterness, with heat and salt, is comforting and cooling and I like it in damp Blighty, too.

Oh, while I'm at it, here's a link to my catering company. It does Indian food. This is really my hobby, you know www.calcuttascarlet.com

You can get Karela fresh (well, ish) in Asian markets, in cans (though I'm not keen) and, I have discovered,in the frozen foods section in Tesco. (Whence I buy fozen okra and fenugreek greens, by the way.) So try what follows. I've said it was unsuccessful in that I have always failed to get the Georgian husband to eat it. But hey, what do you expect from a man raised on grits. (No -- don't get cross: I love grits, too.)

To make an exceptional lamb keema with karela, try this.

Take about 450g minced lamb.
Also, two small onions. Now do this: chop the onions finely and sweat them in oil unitl they are golden brown. Then add a tablespoon of ground coriander and the same of ground cumin, a teaspoon of red chilli flakes and, perhaps. a dessertspoon of turmeric. Mix carefully and fry together for a couple of minutes. Now, add the lamb, turning it around carefully in the spices. You could also fry off the lamb in a separate pan to make sure it is properly browned. I would then add two large handfuls of karela, add a little water, some salt and pepper and bring to a high heat, then down to a simmer for twenty minutes before adding a good handful of fresh, chopped coriander.Check for seasoning and serve with rice. You may want to add a much more complex list of spices and flavourings: say, three cloves of chopped garlic in with the onion; a large piece of finely-chopped ginger; a dessertspoon of brown mustard seeds; a tablespoon of garam masala in at the end....Experiment, but do not overdo. एक्सपेरिमेंट बुत दो नोट ओवर दो!

Now, look at this lovely thali dish of mine, below. Here we have, from top left, clockwise:
ginger root
green cardamom
dried curry leaves
fennel seeds
masoor dal (red lentils)
black peppercorns
turmeric
kalonji (aka onion seed, or nigella)
whole cloves
cinnamon quills
red chillies
fenugreek seeds
cumin seeds


If you want to get yourself some stainless steel dishes like these --with or without the katori, the little dishes that can sit in your thali, if you like, nip ovet to this site, of which I have long been a great fan: www.spicesofindia.com

• Really, this curry, above, is a variation on keema mattar (minced meat with peas). I adore the hit of the bitter gourd with the savoury lamb mince. I might also like to increase the amount of chilli I use. I do sometimes stuff  karela, too, but as what I write here is often the shape of family meals down our way, it tends not to be often. I noticed that the Georgian husband had removed the slices of karela from his keema. Does he not know it's supposed to be a tonic and good for thinning your blood?