Bitter Gourd / Pavakkai Curry

Bitter gourd is rich in compounds that helps reduce blood sugar. It is rich in anti - oxidants. My grandmother used to make this curry so well that we never remember having refused to eat this vegetable. You probably wouldn’t find a greater fan of pavakkai than my daughter. She insists on picking it up from the supermarket every time she accompanies me for shopping. This week she picked up two medium sized ones and that made me wonder, what is it that she loves about this vegetable? I asked her and she said the way it transforms when made into the curry. So here I am with the supposedly magical recipe. I make it a point to give her all vegetables because I like all vegetables and didn’t want to have a fussy kid. Thanks to that she loves all vegetables.

Preparation Time : 20 minutes
Cooking Time : 20 minutes
Serves : 2


Ingredients

Bitter gourd / Karela / pavakkai - 2 medium sized ones
Tomatoes - 2 
Red Chilli powder - 2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander / Dhania Powder - 2 tsp
Cumin / Jeera Powder - 2 tsp
Amchur powder - 2 tsp
For Seasoning 

Mustard - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 2 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp

Procedure

1. Chop the bitter gourd into 1” sticks
2. Chop the tomatoes into small cubes
3. Mix all the powders in a bowl
4. Add the bitter gourd to the bowl with the spice powders, toss and mix well.
5. Heat oil in a kadai.
6. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and the Urad dal.
7. When the dal turns brown, add the tomatoes.
8. Cook till the tomatoes are soft
9. Add the bitter gourd pieces coated with the spice powders and stir well
10. Cook on a medium high flame uncovered till the bitter gourd roasts well
11. When the bitter gourd has developed a nice roasted texture, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
12. Delicious bitter gourd curry is ready.
13. Enjoy it with rasam rice or sambar rice

Notes: (OTHER VERSIONS)

1. You could  also garnish with chopped coriander and a little garam masala if you would want to have it with roti.
2. I once made this as above and added crushed peanuts for an added flavour. This will give a slight nutty taste and neutralize the bitterness

Suit yourself and enjoy this lovely vegetable anyway.