Bitter Gourd Stir Fry with Coconut Slices (Pavakka Mezhukkupuratti)

Thanks everyone for playing the What would you pick… game. It was comforting to know that most everyone would go for comfort food, if they had to stick with eating the same meal for the rest of their life.  There were a couple of smart alecs who wanted to take a hot guy along for dessert, I have to let them, after all it is a deserted island…

Talking about my comfort food I realized that I haven’t blogged about one of my favorite dishes of all times! A simple pavakka (bitter gourd) mezhukkupuratti. For the non-Kerallites out there, let me explain what a mezhukkupuratti is. In Kerala, vegetable dry side dishes are prepared basically in two ways – with ground coconut or without. The first preparation is called a Thoran and the second one is called a Mezhukkupuratti (which roughly translates to “brushed with oil”.) Anyway, that doesn’t mean that Mezhukkupuratti does not contain coconut , Kerallites will find a way to add coconut to any preparation. Some types of mezhukkupuratti’s are made with thinly sliced coconut pieces.

In this particular bitter gourd version, coconut slices are a must, since the coconut offsets the bitterness of the vegetable. If you are a bitter gourd lover like me, I guarantee that you will love this dish!

  

Ingredients

• 1 medium sized bitter gourd (bitter melon)
• 2 green chilies thinly sliced
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 3/4 tsp red chilli powder
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced coconut pieces (available frozen in most Indian grocery stores)
• a few curry leaves
• 1 cup thinly sliced onions
• 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 tbsp oil

Method

Cut the bitter gourd into half length wise. Slice along the width of the pieces as thin as you can get.

Place the bitter gourd , coconut slices, curry leaves and the sliced green chilies in a bowl, add the turmeric and chilli powders and salt and mix well. Keep the mixture aside for about 15 minutes.

In a shallow frying pan, heat 1 tbsp oil and add the onions. Fry till the onions turn brown. Remove the onions from the pan and keep aside.

In the same pan, add 1 tbsp oil. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and let these splutter. Add the marinated bitter gourd mixture and stir well.

Reduce the heat, and cover the pan with a tight fitting lid. Cook for about 5 minutes covered.

Remove the lid, turn up the heat, add the fried onions and mix well. Stir fry on high heat till the mixture is well browned.

The spicy bitter gourd stir fry goes best with rice and a light gravy. I love it the best with rice and plain yogurt.

I actually made a pan full of this today. Siv is out of town, and I am planning to have this and yogurt with rice till he gets back on Tuesday night. I have been kind of sick for a couple of days, still am, so I am in no mood to cook any fancy meals. This is my comfort food, I have no problems eating the same food for three days.

You might also want to check out my other bitter gourd recipes:

• Bitter Gourd and Dried Shrimp 
• Pavakka Pachadi
• Bitter Gourd Theeyal

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Category: Bitter Gourd, Coconut, India - Kerala, Side Dish - Dry, Vegetarian