Pavakka Theeyal/Kayppakka Theeyal/Bitter Gourd Gravy

Bitter Gourd is well known for its rich nutrients, also low in calories. Since bittergourd is sans favorite, I used to cook this vegetable very often. It varies like Pavakka Fry(long term use) or Pavakka PuliKuzhambu. But pavakka theeyal is my personal favorite as it is more close to Ulli Theeyal. So try this tasty recipe to include pavakka in your dish.

Ingredients:

Bitter Gourd/Pavakka	1
Shallots	10 to 15
Green chilly	2
Grated coconut	1/2 cup
Oil	1 tspoon+1 tbl spoon
Dry red chilly	6
Tamarind	1 big gooseberry size(soak in hot water and extract the juice)
Coriander Powder	1&1/2 tspoon
Salt	to taste

To temper:

Oil	1 tspoon
Dry red chilly	2
Mustard	1/2 tspoon
Curry leaves	2 sprig

Preparation:

(1)Wash and clean pavakka. Remove the seeds and chop it into tiny pieces. Soak in salt water for around 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the water and keep the slices aside. Also peel the skin of shallots and chop green chilly to round pieces. Keep everything aside.

(2) Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped pavakka, half of  shallots and green chilly. Saute till pavakka and onion gets cooked by adding little salt (You can also cook them by closing the pan with  a lid in low flame or even boil it in water if you want to avoid oil). Keep the cooked pieces aside.

(3) Again heat oil in a pan. Add grated coconut, dry red chilly, half of peeled onion to it. Saute well so that the color of onion turns brownish(Take care not to burn coconut). Finally add coriander powder in the last minute. Mix well and switch off the flame. Remove the pan from stove. Let it cool down(don't confuse with the amount of coconut in the below picture. It is from my another post Varutharacha mutton curry. Bit lazy to click while cooking :)).

(4) Grind the cooled ingredients in a mixer and make a fine paste.

(5) Take the ground paste in a cooking bowl. Add tamarind juice and salt to your desired taste. Mix well and allow to boil.

(6) Once it starts boiling add the cooked pavakka pieces to it.and mix once. Let everything boil for another 5 minutes. Make it to your desired consistency level.

(7) Mean while temper with the ingredients shown under "to temper" heading. Pour it to the gravy. Mix once and switch off the flame. Close the vessel for another 5 minutes before serving. Pavakka theeyal is now ready.

Enjoy it with steamed rice..

Tips and variations:

• To reduce the bitterness select bitter gourd which are less green in color and with less thornes.
• Soaking the pieces in salt water will reduce the bitterness.
• Always saute the pieces in oil till it is cooked before boiling in water. This helps to reduce the bitter taste.
• Add tamarind juice as needed.
• Gravy tends to thickens once cooled down. Adjust consistency accordingly.