Pavakkai / Bitter Gourd / Bitter Melon has mixed reviews, one set of people that I know simply love anything and everything made with pavakkai and another set of people who simply run away if they heard the word pavakkai. One big change that happened in my life after I started to blog was the like towards pavakkai/ bittermelon. The trick lies in how pavakkai is cooked and what can be done to remove the bitterness. Read on I will tell you how.
1. Adding tamarind juice in pavakkai curry
2. Soaking chopped pavakkai in salt water for 10 mins and squeezing the water.
3. When you buy pavakkai try not to get dark green ones as they tend to be the ones that are really bitter
4. Remove the seeds inside the pavakkai
5. Usually pavakkai based recipes call for more oil, somehow it does the trick use atleast 1 tbsp of oil for any pavakkai based curry/ side.
Chettinad Pavakkai Kuzhambhu Recipe
Recipe Source - adapted from here
Serves - 4 generously
Prep time - 15 mins
Cook time - 20 minutes
Serving Suggestion - white rice, applam & kootu
Ingredients
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera/ cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 spring (10 leaves)
Pavakkai/ Bittermelon - 2 medium sized quartered into small pieces
Small onion - 25 nos
Ripe Tomatoes - 2 large chopped fine
Garlic pods - 10 nos, chopped fine
Sambar powder - 3 tsp
Fennel powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Jaggery - 2 tbsp, chopped
Tamarind juice - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves - chopped fine
Method
1. Take a wide heavy bottom vessel/ kadai. Once its hot add 2 tbsp of oil and splutter the mustard seeds, cumin, chopped garlic and curry leaves.
2. Once the flavors gets released add the small onions and fry until they turn golden. Now add the chopped pavakkai/ bitter melon and fry until they are well cooked (around 8 mins).
3. Now add the tamarind juice, sambar, fennel powder and salt mix well and add 3/4 cup water. Bring it to a boil for 3 minutes.
4. Now add jaggery and cook further in medium/ sim for 5 minutes until oil separates.
5. Garnish with corriander leaves switch off and let it sit for 15 minutes.
Serve hot with white rice, applam and kootu.
LEARN HOW TO MAKE
PAVAKKAI PULI KUZHAMBU
PAVAKKAI PITLAI (WITH DAL/LENTIL)
PAVAKKAI STIR FRY
PAVAKKAI CHIPS
CHANNA DAL KOOTU
MASOOR DAL KOOTU
CHOW CHOW KOOTU