Pavakkai Pitlai / Bitter gourd Pitlai / Bitter Gourd Kulambu (Tamil Brahmin Style)

Pavakkai Pitlai / Bitter gourd Pitlai is a very traditional and also a popular South Indian veg gravy prepared using dhal ( lentils) and vegetables.

Today I want to share the bitter gourd pitlai recipe which I learnt from my brahmin friend Latha balaji. Though it sounds very new; the taste was very nice and healthy too. One special thing about this recipe is you will feel the bitterness of the bitter gourd and even my son ate without any complain!

Try this and give your feed back.

Spicy Bitter Gourd Poriyal (Pachadi) / Pavakkai Pachadi / Spicy Bitter Gourd Stir Fry

Though we know bitter gourd has many nutritional and medicinal properties; many of us hesitate  to consume because of the bitter taste.

Now a days i started to try different recipes to make this vegetable a tasty food and this is one among them.  Every body in my family loved this; try and give your feedback.

Ingredients:

Bitter gourd - 2
Onion - 1

Garlic - 5 to 6 cloves
Ginger - 1" piece
Red chilli powder - ½ to 1 tsp
Tamarind - one small gooseberry size
Red chillies - 2
Jaggery - one small piece
Salt - to taste

For Seasoning:

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - ½ tsp

Red chilies - 2

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Directions:

Pre - preparations:

Wash and peel the skin (don't peel the skin completely; take out only the outer thick layer).

Slit it into two and remove the seeds; then chop into bite sized pieces and keep aside. 

Finely chop the onion, ginger and garlic; keep aside.

Soak the tamarind in ½ cup of water. Extract the juice and keep aside.

Preparation: 

Heat oil in a kadai; season it with mustard seeds, red chillies and curry leaves.

Bitter gourd Raita / Pavakkai Pachadi

An easy way to overcome the reluctance to eat Bitter Gourd!  We were once served this dish in our neighbors house and since then this became one of our favourite!

A simple and tasty way to include Bitter Gourd in our routine.

Ingredients:

Bitter gourd - 2 (big)
Green chillies - 2 or 3 (finely chopped)
Onion - 1 (finely chopped)
Yogurt / curd - ¾ to 1 cup
Salt - to taste

For Seasoning:

Mustard seeds – ½ tsp 

Curry leaves - few 

Red chilly - 1 

Oil - for tempering 

Directions:

Wash and peel the skin (don't peel the skin completely; take out only the outer thick layer).

Slit it into two and remove the seeds;  then chop into bite sized pieces and keep aside.