This recipe Bitter Gourd Crisps, a long-standing family favorite has been a staple in our household for years. Prepared in the microwave, it is incredibly simple, low-effort, and yet delivers fantastic results—reminiscent of deep-fried Bitter Gourd Chips but far healthier. Every time I make these for friends or family, they rave about the flavor and texture.
Both my husband and I are big fans of bitter gourd, and fortunately, we find good-quality bitter gourd (Karela) year-round at our local Indian grocery store. We prepare these crispy bitter gourd rings at least twice a month. Not only are they easy to make, but they also don’t require constant attention. Best of all, they are low-fat and nutritious. When prepared well, these crisps taste almost like indulgent Bitter Gourd Chips, with a perfect balance of crispness and spice. They make an excellent accompaniment to simple meals like Daal-Chaawal, Khichdi with yogurt, or even as a crunchy snack on their own.
Now, about bitter gourd itself—this underrated vegetable is packed with nutrients. It’s rich in vitamins C and A, both of which are great for skin health and immunity. Bitter gourd is also known for its medicinal properties, particularly in promoting healthy digestion and regulating blood sugar levels. While its bitterness may be intimidating to some, recipes like these crisps cleverly mask that flavor while retaining all the health benefits.
The taste of these crisps is a delightful medley. The first bite greets you with a satisfying crunch, followed by a subtle bitterness that’s perfectly complemented by the salty and spicy notes. Trust me, the bitterness is far from overpowering; instead, it adds a unique depth of flavor that lingers pleasantly on the palate.
These Bitter Gourd Crisps are a must-try if you’re looking for a healthy yet indulgent way to enjoy this nutritious vegetable. They are simple, versatile, and a crowd-pleaser every single time!
Ingredients
- 1 big Bitter gourd /bitter melon/hagalkayi(Kannada)
- Oil, salt
- Turmeric
- Red chilli powder (optional)
Method:
- Clean the bitter gourd thoroughly, peel the ridges and cut it into thin circular disks (about 1/8 inch).In fact, thinner the better to get a crisp taste.
- Take a bowl, put 2 tsp of oil, salt, turmeric, and red chilli powder and mix well. Toss in the chopped disks and mix so that each disk gets a proper coating.
- Take a microwavable glass plate and place the coated bitter gourd disks each in its place. Do not stack or overlap the disks.
- Place this in the microwave for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, pull out the plate and move around the disks, just to make sure that they don’t stick to the plate.
- Microwave for 2 more minutes again and pull it out. Spread about 2 more tsp of oil and turn them around.
Continue to microwave for few more minutes and check if they have crisped. [This depends on the power of the microwave, but ours takes about 12 minutes]. - Repeat the process until they all become crisp.
- This can be eaten as snack or accompaniment with Rice-Daal, Pongal, Upma, Poha etc.
Supriya thank you for a bitter gaud (sweet) entry. When I first started reading I thought this was either deep fried or shallow fried. Not for a moment was I expecting it to be cooked in the microwave. I haven’t had bitter gourd in years but this is on my list for the next trip to the Indian store.
Wow.. Microwaved Karela crips–Sounds easy and delicious. Must try soon.
I don’t think I’ve ever had gourd before but I’ve been seeing a few recipes with it. Must be good! I can’t wait to try it.
I love Karela in any form, this microwave version sounds interesting.
In the MC! WOW! I love bitter gourds, can’t say the same with other members of the family tho:-) I am making bitter gourd today! This is a real easy recipe & will pair really well with dal and plain rice.
looks cruncy..microwaving is very clever way to cook them.
Lovely recipe. I usually do not use my microwave for cooking. Just used them to reheat although I have seen numerous recipes on the blogosphere. My daughter loves bittergourd and I am going to try it for her.
RC, I can’t believe it’s MW version karela! Looks so crispy and perfect. I haven’t had this since ages..thanks for reminder. I almost forgot this vegetable. 🙁
Oh really even I kinda feel very bad for my old posts splly with pics 😉 the karela looks lovely I wanted to go grocery shopping and get some but some how snow stopped me 😉
Hi Supriya!
I love Karela. This is a novel way of cooking them. Will try some time soon. As always I love to drool over the pics.
hmmm..we r also karela lovers…I do this very often atleast once a week…you know wat I do it in the oven the same way u told in microwave..
they really turn out crispy like chips…
I already made chips in MW, so I believe it is quiet tasty and crunchy this BG!
I just posted a bitter gourd recipe – one of our favourites too 🙂
The microwave recipe if a great idea to preserve the taste without too much oil!
Looks very crunchy!! never knew bitter gourd could look so delicious!
This is just so good…less oil and lovely colour too, yet crunchy.
Sups, that’s just what I wanted. I have bittergourds lying in my pantry for I-dont-know-how-long. If they are still good, i’m going to make this over weekend.
Have a nice weekend!
This is one veg we kids hated and only time we loved it was when mom made like this.
My SIL was making these with sprinkle of rice flour to make them crispy when I was in Bangalore last year. Looks great RC, Haagalkayi supposed to help Diabetes as they believe at my parents along with western medicine.
I am ready for anything with bitter gourd. MW you say, nothing can be easier than that.
this is perfect with anna saaru
Thanks RC for sharing such a wonderful looking
Karela fry. Nice alternative to deep frying.
I do that for almost all my old posts too 🙂 The bitter gourd crisps look yum and I love that you made it in the microwave…
Neat idea to microwave them….will try it next time….we all love krelas in my house…
We eat a lot of Bitter Gourd crisps too, call it Uchche Bhaja. Didn’t know the MW one. Thanks for the idea
I have never had a liking for karela..maybe its the way Ive been cooking them..also not used to it since childhood.
But hagalkai crisps in MW??? awesome idea..will bring hagalkai on my next subzi mandi trip.
found your site on del.icio.us today and really liked it.. i bookmarked it and will be back to check it out some more later
Wow this is a great resource.. I’m enjoying it.. good article
Great site. A lot of useful information here. I’m sending it to some friends!
I made these yday and omg…they came out soooo good. Ive never liked Hagalkai but this recipe turned my liking for it.
Very simple to make too..just my type. Thanks for the recipe RC. Will be making this more often.
Thanks Lakshmi. So glad you liked them.
Hi, came over from Jayaspace. Lovely site you have here. And am forever on the lookout for simple recipes and tried out two of the microwave ones and put them up on my blog. Have given a link too.
Tried this recipe today.. And loved how simple it is! I am not a karela fan but this wasn’t too bad! Thanks for sharing the recipe. Will be making it again!
hey thanks a bunch for trying. So glad you liked it!
Tried this out last evening ! came out very tasty 🙂
thanks for sharing
I made this today for lunch.It came out so good…Thanks alot for sharing this recipe…..