Saturday, August 12, 2006

3 Weeks 3 Bitter gourd Recipes

Collecting Bitter gourd recipes has been one of my favourite pass times. Summer is an excellent time to try out new recipes as I get about 4-5 bitter gourds every week from my garden. So thanks to my blog friends are in order,

1. Vaishali of Happy Burp for her Bitter Gourd and Mango Curry. A combination I have never tried before.

2. Dear Krishna Arjuna for her Kakarakaya kaarappodi(Spicy bitter gourd powder), a preparation that is absolutely lip smacking.

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Classic Araicha Pavarkkai Kuzhambu
This is one way of cooking that is very popular in Kongu Naadu. This is a preparation I fall back on often and it was the recipe for the first week.

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egg masala, moong dal, bitter gourd kuzhambu

Ingredients
1. 3-4 medium sized bitter gourds cut into rounds.
2. 1/2 Onion chopped roughly
3. 3-4 pods of garlic (optional)
4. 2 tbsp Jaggery (or as per taste)
5. 1 red chilly split in half and seeds removed
6. 1/2 cup of tamarind pulp
7. seasoning (mustard, cumin, methi, curry leaves)


Paste
1. 1/2 cup pearl onion or 1 medium size red onion chopped roughly
2. 2 tbsp corriander seeds
3. 2 tsp cumin seeds
4. 1 tsp pepper
5. 2/3 red chillies
fry the above in a little bit of oil and blend to a smooth paste

Optional
3 tbsp of grated coconut ground to a paste or 2 tbsp of pottukadalai (dalia) powdered or 6-8 almonds powdered

Method
1. In a pan heat oil and add the seasonings followed by the red chillies.
2. Add Onion and fry till translucent. add the garlic and fry a little bit.
3. Add the bitter gourd pieces and fry till they turn soft, alternately bitter gourd pieces can be fried separately with a little oil and added here.
4. Add the ground mixture and salt and mix well and when it is boiling add the tamarind pulp close the lid and cook for 6-8 minutes
5. Add the jaggery and the optional coconut paste mixture and remove from the heat in 2-3 minutes. I did not add coconut paste or the alternatives.


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Goes well with rice and dal.

Bitter Gourd and Mango Curry
Then next week I tried Vaishali's Bitter Gourd and Mango Curry, I pretty much followed her recipe except for adding 1/2 red onion chopped just before the bitter gourd pieces.

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This was a big hit even the kids liked it because the mango pieces masked the taste of the bitter gourd and so no scowls.


Bittergourd Podi


pavarkaipodi


This week I tried Krishna Arjuna's Kakarakaya kaarappodi, [Can't find the original link, use this one from Vahrehvah] followed here for the most part, I did not have Bengalgram dal, so substituted Toor Dal, also cut down the Red chillies to about 6 since the 4 bitter gourds were not too big. This tasted excellent with rice mixed with ghee and the podi.

12 comments:

  1. Hey Indo,
    Thank you so much for trying out the recipe, and for giving the feedback. I am glad to know that the kids loved it. I am sure that those lovely bitter gourds from your garden added much more flavour to the preparation. They look so fresh and healthy.


    Vaishali you are welcome. Nothing like fresh bitter gourds, they are easy to grow, don't know how warm it is in Dusseldorf and for how long, if you have something for them to climb on and warm weather for atleast 4 months you can grow them easily in pots. There are very few pests that attack them too.

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  2. Loveley collection of bittergourd recipes Indo !

    I have been checking your blog everyday to see some more of my favorite kongunadu recipes :)

    Have never tried pavakkai kuzhambu this way before. Thank you for the recipe.

    Priya, thank you and you are welcome. Now you have given me enthu. to find out more about authentic Kongu Naadu recipes.

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  3. ISG
    I am glad you liked the kaarappodi. Wow home grown bittergourds!! they look beautiful..

    KA thank you, every body loves the podi, 2 days and we have almost finished it.

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  4. Can i visit your garden please ??? That served plate looks so inviting. So much like home...

    Archana, you are welcome any time, but there is one rule though you have to bring one of your super fabulous cakes :-).

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  5. Indosun,bittergourd is one difficult area in my cooking...for my husband doesnt eat it if he gets to know it is bittergourd...i need to transmute it to something really tasty and thanx to blogging, i have now amazing varieties to try from...thanx dear..


    bitter gourd does not taste so bad when you add tamarind juice, mango pieces or in the case of the podi, there is hardly any bitterness, give it a try maybe your husband will surprise you but eating it all
    .

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  6. great collection. unfortunately, my bitter gourd have not yet fruited. but i am going to try them with stre bought ones anyway. thanks

    shaheen bitter gourds start to fruit around early July, do you see any flowers?

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  7. Wow wow so many recipes with bitter gourd !!! Btw did u see aval vikatan this edition.. Kongu naatu special ! Was thinking of u !! Two recipes one was arisim parupu sadam that u have blogged and the other was paruppu masiyal !!! Would love to see more kongu naatu specials from you -

    Revathi, yes I did see the Aval Vikatan article, pachai payar kadaijanthu is also a dish I cook often, try my best to find and post more Kongu naadu recipes

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  8. Hi ISN,
    i love those recipes and i learnt pavakkai adding to kozhambu by tasting in saravana bhavan.
    hey girl i made your Thakkali Kozhambu and it was very nice but my system has given some problem so my old pictures are out of my reach.
    Post about that when i maKE it again.
    Thank You.,
    Vineela

    Vineela once we learn to eat pavakkai just cannot resist, it is an added bonus that it is good for your health. Glad you liked the Thakkali Kozhambu. I hope you are able to get your system working again, sometimes they are a pain.

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  9. Lovely recipes with bittergourd. I absolutely loved the ready thali..slurp slurp...my recent trial with bitter gourd was bitter gourd pickle

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  10. There are so many rways to make kakarakaya curry and podis. The bitterness is the key ingredient for good health.It purifies blood and is good to satbilize blood sugar levels for diabetics and aslo toclean stomach. So to put sat and sqeez juice toremove bitterness defeats the purpose. To add too much sat or Sugar is also no good for diabetics. we should fry on low heat and dry it and then sprinkle spices . As a diabetic I wil not add potaoes.Adding garlic and onions is good.
    Lakshmi Moorty
    sunnyvale California USA

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  11. kakarakaya karappodi is too good.
    we also liked it very much

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  12. It's bitter and it is good! thanks

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