Bitter Gourd Rice

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil
Few cloves and a small piece of cinnamon
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp ginger paste
3 green chillies
1 cup chopped tomato
3 cups thinly sliced bitter gourd (Pavakkai)
1.5 cups basmati rice(cooked)
Water
Chilly powder
Turmeric powder
Salt
Method
Heat oil and add cloves and cinnamon.
Add onions, ginger and garlic.

Saute until onions are done.

Add tomatoes and chilly.
Wait till the tomatoes turn mushy.

Add the sliced bitter gourd.Add salt, turmeric and chilly powder. Mix well and let it turn till golden brown.

Add the cooked basmati rice. Give it a nice mix.
TA DA!!!

Bitter Gourd and Potatoes with a Twist

Bitter Gourd and Potatoes with a Twist

Bitter Gourd and Potatoes with a Twist

Bitter Gourd (Pavakka) is my favourite vegetable. Simple pavakka mizhukkuvaratti (Bitter Gourd stir fry) is heavenly. I also like making Pitla with it. (Will post recipe for Pitla some other time). My husband also shares my love for Pavakka (thank god for that).

When making Pavakka these days, I am always reminded of an incident that happened a couple of years ago. My now 2.5 year old son was around 8 months at that time. He had started eating solid food - vegetables and fruits in puree form. He used to crawl to us when we were eating food and ask for what we were eating. We used to let him get a lick of the Indian cooked dinner. We were a little scared of giving him all that spicy food at that age. One day the dinner was pavakka and when my husband gave him some mushed pavakka, we were sure he is going to spit it out. But my DS loved it. He kept smacking his lips and asking for more. :-)

I was looking for some different recipe for making Bitter Gourd in other blogs and came across a Bitter Gourd Masala recipe in Priya's website. I made some changes to the recipe and created my version below. Check out the original recipe in her website.

Ingredients

Bitter Gourd 3 finely chopped

Potato 1 big pealed and cut into small cubes

Onion 1 big finely chopped

Ginger, garlic, green chillies all finely chopped

Mustard 1 tsp

Turmeric 1 tsp

Hing

Oil and Salt to taste

For Grinding to a powder

Poppy seeds 1 tsp

Quinoa 1 tsp

Channa dal 1 tbsp

Whole pealed urad dal 1 tbsp

Coriander seeds 1 tsp

Cumin 1 tsp

Red chillies 3

Method of Preparation

1. Dry roast the poppy seeds and quinoa and keep aside.

2. Add a little oil and roast the channa dal and urad dal. When it starts to brown, add the coriander seeds, cumin and red chillies and roast for a minute.

3. Grind all the above into a fine powder.

4. In a pan, add some oil and add the mustard to it.

5. When it sputters, add the turmeric, hing, onions, green chillies, ginger and garlic and sauté till onion is browned.

6. Add the bitter gourd and cook for 5 minutes.

7. Then add the potatoes and cook till it is almost done.

8. Add the ground powder and salt and cook till the vegetables are cooked well.

9. Serve with roti or rice. we enjoyed this with roti.

- See more at: http://www.roshniskitchen.com/2011/11/bitter-gourd-and-potatoes-with-twist.html#sthash.5DAkzGoU.dpuf

Bitter Gourd (Pavakka) is my favourite vegetable. Simple pavakka mizhukkuvaratti (Bitter Gourd stir fry) is heavenly. I also like making Pitla with it. (Will post recipe for Pitla some other time). My husband also shares my love for Pavakka (thank god for that).

When making Pavakka these days, I am always reminded of an incident that happened a couple of years ago. My now 2 year old DD was around 8 months at that time. She had started eating solid food - vegetables and fruits in puree form. She used to crawl to us when we were eating food and ask for what we were eating. We used to let her get a lick of the Indian cooked dinner. We were a little scared of giving her all that spicy food at that age. One day the dinner was pavakka and when my Hus gave her some mushed pavakka, we were sure she is going to spit it out. But my DD loved it. She kept smacking her lips and asking for more. :-)


Ingredients

Bitter Gourd 3 finely chopped
Potato 1 big pealed and cut into small cubes
Onion 1 big finely chopped
Ginger, garlic, green chillies all finely chopped
Mustard 1 tsp
Turmeric 1 tsp
Hing

Oil and Salt to taste

For Grinding to a powder
Poppy seeds 1 tsp
Quinoa 1 tsp
Channa dal 1 tbsp
Whole pealed urad dal 1 tbsp
Coriander seeds 1 tsp
Cumin 1 tsp
Red chillies 3

Method of Preparation

Bitter Gourd and Potatoes with a Twist

1. Dry roast the poppy seeds and quinoa and keep aside.

2. Add a little oil and roast the channa dal and urad dal. When it starts to brown, add the coriander seeds, cumin and red chillies and roast for a minute.

3. Grind all the above into a fine powder.

4. In a pan, add some oil and add the mustard to it.

5. When it sputters, add the turmeric, hing, onions, green chillies, ginger and garlic and sauté till onion is browned.

6. Add the bitter gourd and cook for 5 minutes.

7. Then add the potatoes and cook till it is almost done.

8. Add the ground powder and salt and cook till the vegetables are cooked well.

9. Serve with roti or rice. we enjoyed this with roti.

Pavakkai Vengayam Vadhakkal/Bitter Gourd Onion Stir Fry

 Pavakkai Vengayam Vadhakkal/Bitter Gourd Onion Stir Fry

Pavakkai Vengayam Vadhakkal/Bitter Gourd Onion Stir Fry

Bitter Gourd or 'Pavakkai' as it is known in Tamil  is very low in calorie and dense in nutrients.

It is an excellent source of vitamins B1, B2, and B3, C, magnesium, folic acid, zinc, phosphorus, manganese, and has high dietary fiber.  It is rich in iron, contains twice the beta-carotene of broccoli, twice the calcium of spinach, and twice the potassium of a banana.

The bitterness of the vegetable is perfectly offsett by its goodness, finding it a place in the platter.
There are many dishes which can be made using this vegetable and this is a simple stir fry recipe which is sure to seduce your taste buds!!

Preparation Time: 10min

Cooking Time: 7 min

Serves:2

Shelf life:1day

Serving Suggestion : This curry is best when mixed with hot steamed rice and a dollop of ghee on it or hot phulkas!!