Karavila Sambal Bitter Gourd Veg Salad Bowl Recipe

Karavila Sambal Veg Salad Bowl (Bitter Gourd Sambal or Pagarkaai Sambal) using raw Bitter Gourd with more raw veggies and nuts is a healthy indulgence. I did this zero oil recipe in late fall with my homegrown veggies of bitter gourd, cucumber (seeds were given by my friends) and Grape Tomato (the plant was gifted

by my daughter’s friend :-). Sambal is an Indonesian chili sauce or paste typically made from a mixture of a variety of chili, its a all purpose condiment used in many dishes as sauce, spread, for seasoning purpose etc. Coming to the recipe I noticed it in Sathish place in Instagram since we eat Pagarkaai very often I thought of giving a try. For kids shake I adapted the recipe from his space and tried out immediately. This is a kids approved recipe so you can trust it very well 🙂

Before getting into the recipe i am going to talk about how to dry the bitter gourd. I used three small size bitter gourds once you slice and dry, it yields a small quantity. If you are in cold weather place do dry in oven or use air fryer or dehydrator. I dried under direct sunlight the very first day for few hours and it was in shade/indoor for next two days. If its a summer season you can very well dry indoor for 3 days leaving it open in a dust free place. The drying part is so important if you are not keeping them in hot place then it may form molds… So don’t leave them in moist place uncared .

Karavila Sambal Veg Salad Bowl Preparation

• Wash the bitter gourds well, dry excess moisture/water over it before slicing.
• Slice them as thin as possible.
• Dry as instructed in above paragraph.

• Once dried as shown in the above picture do prepare the other ingredients for the sambal as shown below.

I have the video tutorial in my facebook fanpage (not in YouTube) do check the link HERE.

• The coconut has to be ground with green chili to give spice to this dish.
• But I adapted it for my kids and added seasoned salt which has mild spice level (check Variation and Tips Section to know more).
• In a mixing bowl add chopped sliced veggies one by one like Onion, Cucumber and Carrot.
• Add boiled peanuts, ground or shredded coconut and seasoned salt/spice mix.
• Add dried Karavila/Bitter Gourd/Pagarkaai (in Tamil) and sunflower seeds.
• Finally add sliced tomatoes, lemon juice and give a gentle stir before serving.
• If you have Mayonnaise/Ranch to top it like a salad so kids love it yeah don’t forget the croutons :-).

Variations and Tips

1. You can easily skip or replace peanuts with Kabuli Chana or Black chana.
2. Instead of green chilis you can add mix of red chili powder/paprika, herbs like Italian seasoning or oregano/ajwain leaves, table salt, garlic powder,onion powder and chat masala powder (for Indian touch) as an alternative for seasoned salt.
3. Can add boiled eggs to this sambal.

Print Version

Karavila Sambal Bitter Gourd Salad Bowl Recipe

• DRIED BITTER GOURD – 2 TBSP
• GROUND COCONUT OR SHREDS – 2 TSP
• BOILED PEANUTS – 1/4 CUP
• SLICED CUCUMBER/CARROT – 1/4 CUP
• CHOPPED ONION – 1 TBSP
• OPTIONAL GREEN CHILI PASTE – 1/2TSP OR
• RED CHILI POWDER – 1/2TSP OR
• SEASONED SALT – 3/4 TSP (REFER VARIATION AND TIPS SECTION)
• SUNFLOWER SEEDS/ALMONDS – 1 TBSP
• LEMON JUICE – 1 TSP

1. Wash the bitter gourds well, dry excess moisture/water over it before slicing.
2. Slice them as thin as possible.
3. Dry as instructed in above paragraph.
4. Once dried as shown in the above picture do prepare the other ingredients for the sambal as shown below.
5. The coconut has to be ground with green chili to give spice to this dish.
6. But I adapted it for my kids and added seasoned salt which has mild spice level (check Variation and Tips Section to know more).
7. In a mixing bowl add chopped sliced veggies one by one like Onion, Cucumber and Carrot.
8. Add boiled peanuts, ground or shredded coconut and seasoned salt/spice mix.
9. Add dried Karavila/Bitter Gourd/Pagarkaai (in Tamil) and sunflower seeds.
10. Finally add sliced tomatoes, lemon juice and give a gentle stir before serving.
11. If you have Mayonnaise/Ranch to top it like a salad so kids love it yeah don’t forget the croutons :-).

1. You can easily skip or replace peanuts with Kabuli Chana or Black chana.
2. Instead of green chilis you can add mix of red chili powder/paprika, herbs like Italian seasoning or oregano/ajwain leaves, table salt, garlic powder,onion powder and chat masala powder (for Indian touch) as an alternative for seasoned salt.
3. Can add boiled eggs to this sambal.