Bitter gourd-Jawahar

(Momordica charantia) Bitter gourd or karela, also known as bitter melon in the Chinese markets, is a delicacy that is nutritious and is renowned to have medicinal qualities. It can be fried, stuffed, pickled, baked or curried. Varieties of this vegetable include those with very light, almost whitish green skin to the dark bottle green colored skin. Some are almost a foot-and-a-half, while others are just about 2"-3" long. Cooking this vegetable seems to reduce some of the bitter taste. Jawahar is emerald green, 7-8" fruit, quite bitter, a heavy yielder bearing 55-60 days from sowing.