Pavakkai Curry
Ingredients Needed:
Bitter gourd - 2 medium / 2 cups
Onions - 1 medium
Tomato - 1 medium
Mustard Seeds, Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
curry leaves handful
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder a pinch
Salt to taste
Tamarind extract - 2 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
How to make the bitter gourd curry
Wash and chop the bitter gourds as julienne.
Heat a pan with oil, add mustard, urad dal and curry leaves. Saute for couple of mins, then add the chopped onions, continue sauteing till the onions turn colour
Then add the chopped tomatoes, salt, turmeric. Mix well and simmer. Let the tomatoes get soft.
Next add the red chili powder, coriander powder. Combine all and sprinkle little water on it for the tomatoes to get very mushy. Now add bitter gourd pieces and saute well.
Let this get well mixed, now add the tamarind extract and continue boiling. Add 1/2 cup water and let it boil and then simmer so that the vegetable gets cooked and water is all evaporated.
Notes:
Normally bitter gourd is either dry roasted or par boiled to remove excess bitterness. In this curry we have not done that as we are adding tamarind extract, which will balance the bitterness.
The curry is supposed to be dry saute with the masala clinging to the vegetable.
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vaishali sabnani says
well this is one of my fav too...you got to peel the karelas..right?..will make it soon..must be yum with tamarind:)
Srivalli says
Vaishali We mostly don't peel the karelas too much, just scrap the outer skin lightly...if you notice hard, you will see the thick green outer skin
Nivedhanams Sowmya says
delicious curry!! very healthy too...
Priya Suresh says
Usually i chop them as small bites, may be i'll try with julienned ones, one of my fav curry.
Leena Chandrashekar says
Looks yummy..do visit my blog dear..thanks
Suma Gandlur says
The same idea works in my home too. I too cook dishes which are not favorite of mine but no one can make me eat. 🙂
I am surprised that your bitter gourd preparation doesn't need any sweetener.
Sarita says
Your curries are too tempting... Yummy .
Srivalli says
Suma I don't remember either Amma or Athamma adding jaggary to our bittergourd, so even I never do. I can't say how different it might taste as I don't eat it. However my husband likes it bitter. So I guess he doesn't know the difference..:)
Sapana Behl says
Bitter gourd is my favorite too...loved your version !
Harini-Jaya R says
Hmm. I was also wondering why there is no jaggery in this curry 🙂
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
I absolutely love pavakkai and in fact my whole family loves it. That is the reason we grow tons of pavakki in our backyard. We also add jaggery in our curry, but like you said if you like it bitter, then it alright to skip it.
Sreevalli E says
Very tempting curry.. For the fact I'm a fan of this veggie & I'm trying this dish.
Suja Ram says
Nice side-dish recipe. My husband too loves bitter gourd very much and so I do this style curry often.