Among the many karela recipes that I try, karela chips is a favourite snack.

Yesterday, I made some airfried karela or bitter gourd chips with masala. Remember the kurkuri bhindi I had shared earlier, this is similar but the chips require some more work.
Here is the karela chips recipe:
Ingredients:
2 bitter gourd sliced into rounds
3 tbsp. besan or gram flour
1 tbsp. rice flour
½ tsp. carrom seeds or ajwain
1 tsp. red chilli powder
1 tsp. amchur or dry mango powder
1 tsp. coriander powder
1 tsp. garam masala powder
salt to taste
Juice of ½ lemon
2 tbsp. oil
Recipe
I added some salt to the bitter gourd slices and kept aside for an hour. Then I squeezed them to remove the extra water and salt. This helps reduce the bitterness.
Add all the masala powders together and sprinkle all over the bitter gourd slices.
Mix well and leave aside to marinate for about 20 minutes.
Now add 1 tbsp. oil and mix again. By now, the spice coating would adhere to the bitter gourd slices.

Deep Fry
If deep frying, heat oil in a pan and slowly fry the roundels till crispy. Drain on a kitchen paper towel and consume.
Air Fry
Preheat airfryer at 160 deg C for 6 minutes.
Brush the basket and lay out bitter gourd chips for airfrying.
Airfry for 10 minutes turning once in the middle.
Now bump up the temperature to 200 deg C and airfry for 6-8 minutes more turning once in the middle.
Your bitter gourd chips should turn golden brown and crispy.
Serve hot with chai.
Pro Tips
These are tasty and super healthy compared to the deep fried version that you get in chips shops. The coating is thinner here but crispy.
If you want your karela to be even lower on bitterness. You could add some tamarind juice to the bitter gourd pieces along with salt when you are trying to remove bitterness. This helps further cut the bitterness. Now enjoy your bittergourd chips. If you don’t have an airfryer, then try baking them instead of deep frying.


Karela Chips Recipe | Crispy Bitter Gourd Chips
This is a delicious and super quick recipe of Bitter gourd chips or karela chips. You can make them healthier by baking or airfrying or make them the traditional way by deep frying.
Ingredients
- 2 bitter gourd sliced into thin rounds
- 3 tbsp. besan or gram flour
- 1 tbsp. rice flour
- ½ tsp. carrom seeds or ajwain
- 1 tsp. red chilli powder
- 1 tsp. amchur or dry mango powder
- 1 tsp. coriander powder
- 1 tsp. garam masala powder
- salt to taste
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 2 tbsp. oil
Instructions
-
I added some salt to the bitter gourd slices and kept aside for an hour. Then I squeezed them to remove the extra water and salt. This helps reduce the bitterness.
-
Add all the masala powders together and sprinkle all over the bitter gourd slices.
-
Mix well and leave aside to marinate for about 20 minutes.
-
Now add 1 tbsp. oil and mix again. By now, the spice coating would adhere to the bitter gourd slices.
Deep Fry
-
If deep frying, heat oil in a pan and slowly fry the roundels till crispy. Drain on a kitchen paper towel and consume.
Air Fry
-
Preheat airfryer at 160 deg C for 6 minutes.
-
Brush the basket and lay out bitter gourd chips for airfrying.
-
Airfry for 10 minutes turning once in the middle.
-
Now bump up the temperature to 200 deg C and airfry for 6-8 minutes more turning once in the middle.
-
Your bitter gourd chips should turn golden brown and crispy.
-
Serve hot with chai.
Recipe Notes
1.These are tasty and super healthy compared to the deep fried version that you get in chips shops. The coating is thinner here but crispy.
2. If you want your karela to be even lower on bitterness. You could add some tamarind juice to the bitter gourd pieces along with salt when you are trying to remove bitterness. This helps further cut the bitterness. Now enjoy your bittergourd chips. If you don’t have an airfryer, then try baking them instead of deep frying.
Do try this karela chips recipe and let me know. If you liked the recipe, I request you to give it a star * rating either on the recipe card or in the comments.
You may like these other Airfryer Recipes from the blog.
Do you make karela chips in this manner? Did you like this healthy recipe? Do share with me.
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3 comments
I love Karela chips! I make it in a different way, south indian style, but still they are one of my favorites! It’s the only form I eat karelas too! 😀
Hehe That’s nice. You don’t like bharwa karela? You should try it.
Karela is my DH’s favourite, and he loves Karela chips too. I shall definitely give this a go in my air fryer, Rachana. Think have tried your kurkuri bhindi recipe in the past, in the air fryer.
Thanks for sharing.