P is for Pavakka Pachadi

Saturday, May 12th, 2007

Filed Under Bitter Gourd, India - Kerala, Recipes, Side Dish - Gravy, Vegetarian

It is time for the weekly dose of that authentic Kerala recipe. Pavakka aka bitter gourd aka bitter melon has been my favorite vegetable for as long as I can remember. I know there is a big group of people who absolutely hate this vegetable, it is really an acquired taste. But cooked the right way, most of the bitterness of pavakka can be masked, or it can elevate other flavors in a dish. My all time favorite pavakka dish is theeyal, where tamarind is used to moderate the bitterness. Next comes Pavakka Pachadi, featured here today.

Like all Kerala Pachadis, this is a yogurt based dish. Yogurt is the masking agent here, though it doesn’t take away the bitterness completely, the sour and bitter flavors nicely complement each other in this dish. A must try for bitter gourd lovers, and for those who are on the fence with this vegetable… you might just be surprised!

I actually took step by step pictures, since I wasn’t sure how photogenic the final product will be - the curse of the white soups!

Ingredients

1 medium sized bitter gourd (to yield about 1 cup after mincing)
1/4 cup minced shallots
To Grind
- 1/2 cup grated coconut
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 green Serrano chili pepper(1 tbsp sliced chili pepper)
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp urad daal (skinned and split black lentils)
2 dry red chilies split
a few curry leaves
Curd or Yogurt 2 cups
salt to taste
oil

Method

Split the bitter gourd and scoop out the seeds from the inside. Bitter gourd can be minced in the food processor. I personally don’t like to use the food processor just to mince this small quantity, it is more effort to clean the different parts of the machine than to mince the vegetable manually.
Heat 1 tbsp little oil in a pan and add the minced shallots. Saute for a minute.
Now add the minced bitter gourd and saute till brown, till it looks like this:
Grind the coconut, mustard seeds and green chilli together to form a fine paste.
In a pan, heat 1 tsp oil and add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds splutter, add the lentils, fenugreek seeds ,cumin seeds, curry leaves and the dry red chilies and saute till the chilies start to brown.
Add the ground coconut paste and saute for about a minute.
Add the fried bitter gourd pieces, 1 cup of water and salt, it will look like this:
Cook till the liquid is fully gone.
Reduce the heat and add the beaten yogurt and mix well. Let it heat through, stirring constantly without letting the yogurt boil.
Remove from the heat and let it stand for an hour or so to blend the flavors.
Delicious Pachadi is ready, serve with rice and a spicy side dish.

Note:

If you really can’t stand the bitterness, here is a trick to reduce it. Smear some salt on the minced bitter gourd and let it stand for about half an hour. Then squeeze out the liquid. Most of the bitterness will be gone, but so will most of the nutrients too I assume.

Check out different varieties of Pachadis here: http://keralamela.blogspot.com/2007/02/pachadis-yogurt-salads.html

This Pavakka Pachadi is my P entry for Nupur’s A-Z of Indian Vegetables event.

Technorati tags: Kerala Recipes, Bitter Gourd, Pavakka, Karela

Comments

29 Responses to “P is for Pavakka Pachadi”

Sandeepa on May 12th, 2007 5:39 pm

You love Karela…such a nice girl my Ma would love you so much.
I think all cuisines other than the Bong ones try to mask the bitterness of Karela. The Pachadi and the step by step pics look beautiful.
The first pic with the reddish orange background makes the Pachadi look as exotic as your drinks
Aruna(Themistressofspices.wordpress.com) on May 12th, 2007 7:50 pm

Sig, Thx for a bittergourd dish again !!
After ur mouthwatering theeyal I am sure pachadi also would taste great.
Mishmash ! on May 12th, 2007 7:50 pm

You have made the simple pachadi look photogenic, Sig

Shn
Asha on May 12th, 2007 9:07 pm

YUMMY!! Sig,Arvind loves Karela.Whenever I make it he always eats with yogurt.This would be perfect dish for him.I can’t eat more than a tbsp of this veggie though!;D
I love Theeyal.
Nupur on May 12th, 2007 9:13 pm

I confess that I am not a bitter gourd fan, but this cool and creamy pachadi might just make me try this recipe!
bee on May 12th, 2007 9:23 pm

karela is my fav veggie too. guess it’s a mallu thing. i’ve never eaten pachadi with it, though. your recipe will be attempted in our home very soon.
Richa on May 12th, 2007 10:29 pm

loved ur recipe, sig, will be trying it soon.
wow! you have chopped it so fine!! i do scrape the karela skin a bit, i see u did not peel it at all.
excellent step-by-step pics!
musical on May 12th, 2007 11:50 pm

Yippeeeeeee! I love karelas, and am definitely gonna’ try this pachadi. Lovely step by step pictures, dear. Your theeyal and pachadi are gonna’ convert all non-karela people :).

I love how you retained the peel on karelas. But guess with the stir frying it should not be that bitter. Punjus scrape the peel and cook karelas without it, the scrapes though get sautee’d with onions to make bhurji.
Suganya on May 13th, 2007 1:26 am

Crunchy bitter gourd with cool yogurt - Good combo I shud say!
Cynthia on May 13th, 2007 2:08 am

I am a bitter gourd fan so I will try this. Before I make this particular dish however, I want to do as you suggest and try the bitter gourd with some tamarind and experience the taste.

Thanks Sig.
reena on May 13th, 2007 5:30 am

sig back to kerala with karela!!!:))

pavakka is something which i love now. i love the theeyal, pachadi and just fry with it. though i still make okra pachadi more often. love the step by step pictures. i am so lazy to take just one picture :))
Manisha on May 13th, 2007 8:19 am

Sig, this has everything I love: Coconut, green chillis, mustard seeds and best of all, karela! Y-u-m!

It’s very like okra pachadi from Ammini’s book except that had no shallots. I’m going to make this real soon!
indosungod on May 13th, 2007 12:39 pm

Sig, love pavakkai, Pavakka Pachadi looks tempting and it is perfect for the ‘P’ series and it is new to me.

Always cook it with a tamarind infusion. will sure give this a try.
Sig on May 13th, 2007 6:29 pm

Sandeepa, lol, I am sure I didn’t know that karela is good for me while growing up, otherwise I sure wouldn’t have liked it.

Aruna, hope you try this, it is quite different from the theeyal, this still has the bitterness in it, but very tasty.

Shn lol, thanks girl…

Asha, u don’t like karela????? You should try the karela theeyal then, it is not that bitter.
Sig on May 13th, 2007 6:34 pm

Nupur, you too? Another Karela hater? There are just too many of you out there

Bee, I think it is a mallu thing too, I guess we just know how to make a bitter vegetable taste good… If you like Pavakka and Pachadi, then this dish is for you!

Richa, I don’t peel karela, in fact this is the first time I am hearing that people do I thought the skin is the best part! Try it without peeling next time…

Musie, as I said, I never peel the skin for any karela dishes , so you are saying that the skin is more bitter? I didn’t even know that, I just love the bitter taste
Sig on May 13th, 2007 6:41 pm

Suganya thanks, it is the perfect combo

Cynthia, I have your stuffed karelas bookmarked to be tried out soon… I think you will enjoy my bitter gourd theeyal recipe, combining bittergourd with tamarind paste.

Reena, I know what you mean.. I am too lazy too… It really is a lot of work to take the step-by-step pics, i have a new admirations for bloggers who always do step-by-step pics…

Manisha, Yep, most Kerala pachadis have the same basic technique… If you love all those ingredients, u will love this pachadi, do try.

Indo, I am with you, Karela and tamarind is the best combo, but the yogurt pachadi is a close second in my opinion.
Sushma on May 13th, 2007 11:13 pm

Hmm so you are Karela fan..well I am not such a big fan of karela but eat only specific dishes of it for its great nutritional value…your pavakka pachadi recipe says to me “Try Me”
Dilip on May 14th, 2007 12:17 am

great regional recipe I see…I love to learn about regional dishes…this is great…thanks for sharing
Mallugirl on May 14th, 2007 2:38 am

nice presentation and loved the detailed method.. i like pavakka a lot but didn’t like it so much while growing up. Pachadi made with anything are nice, aren’t they?
Roopa on May 14th, 2007 3:13 am

hmmm… a different pachadi recipe than we make! WE love this pachadi our all time favorite will try your version
Sig on May 14th, 2007 3:22 am

Sush, yes I am a big karela fan… because of the taste, not because of the nutritional value , exactly the opposite of what you eat it for… :D. Do try this one… u might even end up liking the taste…

Dilip, yeah I am learning a lot about different regional recipes from the blogosphere too… it is amazing how much variety we have in India…

Shaheen, surprizingly I loved pavakka even when I was a kid… glad you like it now… but u r right, pachadi makes everything taste good anyway…

Roopa, do post your version sometime… is it totally different from this? What I have here is the basic mallu pachadi recipe..
Coffee on May 14th, 2007 6:29 am

AAAHHH!!!!! I love dishes where they mask the taste of bitter gourd!!! Loved the pics and the pachadi as well!!
Sia's Corner on May 14th, 2007 8:20 am

i love bitter gourd and actually i like its bitterness:) got a bag of frozen karela. will frozen one will do or u need to use the fresh ones? sorry for the silly question sweetie:)
Sig on May 14th, 2007 3:07 pm

Coffee, so I take it that you are not a big fan of Karela? This dish is bitter okay, it is just a little less so with the yogurt…

Sup, there are no silly questions, just silly answers, haven’t you heard? Frozen will do just fine, since you are browning the karela. Just make sure it is not too watery, like frozen veggies tend to get.
Sharmi on May 14th, 2007 4:47 pm

Oh what a lovely recipe. the step by step pics are really awesome. Never had this one before. will surely try it sometime. bookmarking!
Sig on May 14th, 2007 4:54 pm

Sharmi, thanks… Do try sometime, I am sure you will love it.
Pravs on May 18th, 2007 12:46 am

love the bitter tasting pavakka.
your recipe is different from what i have posted on pavakka pachadi.
Raaga on May 30th, 2007 4:50 am

I’m neutral towards this vegetable, but my husband hates it. But I will try this one… who knows, as you say, he may change his views.

Am here for the first time, and am loving it
suma on March 11th, 2008 7:57 pm

hi
that was a very nice recipe. i did make it and it turned out very nice.my husbands favorite is pavaka pachadi. thanks a lot. the step by step pictures are also nice.

Thanks for the feedback Suma.. Glad you liked it!