REMAS CAFE RECIPES : February 2013

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Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Bittergourd/Pavakkai Pitlai

Hi guys!!!!!!!
                     After a long time sitting here to write recipes based on pitlais...
                     Generally, bitter gourd pitlai (pavakkai pitlai) is very famous through south Indians...
                     Let's start the recipe now.

Ingredients:
                  Bitter gourd ( smaller ones/midhi pavakkai) - 1/2 kg
                  New Tamarind                                               - a small ball
                  Salt                                                                 - 1 tsp
                  Urad dhal                                                       - 3/4 tsp
                  Mustard seeds                                                - 1 tsp
                  Red chillies                                                    - 2
                  Asafoetida, Curry patta, Coriander leaves     - little
                  Cooked Toor dhal                                          - 4 tbsps
                 
   To make a paste:
                             Coriander seeds - 11/2 tsps.
                             Chana dhal        - 1 tsp
                             Urad dhal         - 3/4 tsp
                             Red chillies      - 6
                             Shredded coconut - little
              Fry all the ingredients till it turns red in little oil. After cooling down, make a little coarse powder and keep it aside.

Preparation:
                  Let's start with the cooking of bitter gourd first.
  
    Cooking bitter gourd:
  1. Mix the bitter gourd with little tamarind paste and keep it aside for sometime.
  2. After it dries, clean it with water.
  3. Keep a kadai on the stove and put the cleaned bitter gourds.
  4. Add little salt and turmeric powder along with water.
  5. Cook till all the vegetables become soft.
  6. Add a little jiggery and cook it in sim mode till all the water evaporates.
  7. Keep the cooked bitter gourd.
    Pitlai:
  •  Keep a kadai on the stove.
  •  Add the cooked bitter gourd.
  • Next, add the tamarind juice prepared from the remaining tamarind.
  • When the raw smell of the tamarind leaves, add cooked toor dhal to the mixture.
  • After cooking sometime, add the powder prepared specially for this.
  • Again cook till all the ingredients mixes well.
  • Add a little rice powder (mixed in water) to the mixture.
  • Cook it for another 10 minutes and then remove it from heat.
  • Add sprigs of kari patta.
  • Fry mustard seeds with urad dhal in little oil and add to the mixture.
  • Finally, add asafoetida to the mixture.
  • Hot pitlai is ready for serving.
This can be served instead of sambhar with rice.