In this instructional video, Dr. Priti Nanda Sibal demonstrates how to prepare a chatpata, lababdar kareli (bitter gourd) achar. She begins by roasting a blend of spices—cumin, salt, samrai, ajwain, and methi seeds—until lightly browned, then grinding them in a mortar to preserve aroma. The ground spices are mixed with black salt, amchur powder (or raw mango), and a pinch of turmeric, followed by mustard oil, which is heated. Bitter gourd is sliced, sun‑dried on muslin for two hours, then fried in the hot oil until light brown. The roasted spices are added to the fried gourd, ensuring the color stays light brown to avoid bitterness. Dr. Sibal emphasizes careful temperature control, the importance of using a mortar for flavor, and the role of mustard oil in preservation. She concludes by highlighting the pickle’s health benefits—particularly for blood‑sugar regulation and body detox—citing patient feedback over the past five years. The final product is presented as a tasty, long‑lasting pickle suitable for diabetics and those seeking detoxification.
Chapters
Welcome to a new recipe from Food Medicine and Life channel. Today we are going to make chatpatal, lababdar, kareli kachar. So what I'm going to do is first I have this pan on my gas. I'm going to add some spices and roast them. So I'm going to take 1 small spoon of jeera because I'm going to make very little achar, right? I'm going to add some salt, samrai, ajwain, and methi seeds. You can also add a little ink if you want.
Great.
Roast it till it becomes light brown. Now once this has become light brown, very nice Very, very nice aroma is coming. I'm going to put this in my mortar and crush it properly. And why I'm going to use mortar is very simple, because it adds to the aroma and flavor while mixer actually depreciates it. So I'm going to add this in the chisel, right? And now I'm going to beat it properly so that— so now you see has actually got grounded. Very, very beautiful consistency if you see. And now I'm going to add some black salt. Great. I'm going to add amchur powder. You can also add kacha aam if you want, right? But I don't have kacha aam at home right now, so I'm going to add amchur powder to make it khatta and chatpata. I'm also going to add Haldi, half spoon, right? And I'm going to mix it properly. Now I've taken mustard oil, half cup. See, spices need good amount of oil so that they remain— they are tasty and they can be preserved for a long time. So I've added half spoon of oil and I've heated this. Now What I'm going to do is I actually cut these into pieces, right? Bitter gourd into pieces, and I dried them for 2 hours in the sun on a thin muslin cloth. So now I have these dry cut pieces of bitter gourd, and I'm going to add them in the oil, right?
Yes, for some time.
I'm going to use hot Fry it in this oil. And once these become light brown, what am I going to do? I am going to add all the spices in the oil.
Right?
Yeah. So, I am going to add the spices in the oil first. Because it will then come crisper, it will stay for a long time. See, the light brown color has started coming. Right? And please keep moving it so that it doesn't become dark brown or blackish, because then it will become what? It will not be edible. You will not like it because it will become bitter, and it will not be as tasty as it will be if you are careful while you are sorting it. Light brown is what we want, right? And if you see, it's not a light brown color. It is very, very good for diabetics. It is very good for detoxing our body. And you know what? In the last 5 years, lot of my patients have come back and said, thank you, ma'am, for introducing parley tomato juice in our life. And why? Because skin clear, glow, beautiful, weight loss. And most importantly, it is so easy to make it that Once you start having it, you really don't want to stop it. And today I am sure when you make this Kareli ka chutpata achar, you will again thank me for making such a delicious input which you can eat and maintain your sugar levels and have your body detoxified. So you see, this is all light brown now in color. Yes, and perfect. It's looking nice. So now this pickle is ready.
