Pavakkai Pitlai / Bittergourd Pitlai
Pavakkai Pitlai is a South Indian kuzhambu variety made using Bittergourd, Dal, Chickpeas and mildly spicy coconut gravy.
Ingredients
- 2 Bittergourd Medium
- 1/3 cup Toor Dal
- 1/4 cup Brown Chana
- Salt as needed
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
- Tamarind small gooseberry sized
- Jaggery a pinch
For the masala paste
- 1 tsp Oil
- 1 tbsp Coriander Seeds
- 2 tsp Chana Dal
- 5 Red Chillies
- 1/4 cup Grated Coconut
- 5 Fenugreek seeds
For Tempering
- 1 tsp Sesame Oil
- 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
- Asafoetida a pinch
- Curry Leaves Handful
For garnishing
- 3 tbsp Coriander Leaves finely chopped
Instructions
To prepare
- Soak brown chana overnight and pressure cook for 3 whistles or until soft. It should not be mushy.
- Pressure cook toor dal for 4 whistles or until done. Mash and keep aside.
- Cut bittergourd into rounds and discard the seeds. Pressure cook for 3 whistles and keep aside.
- Soak tamarind in 2 cups of warm water and extract the juice. Discard the tamarind pulp.
Masala Paste
- In a pan, add a tsp of oil. Once hot, add coriander seeds, chana dal, red chillies. Fry on medium flame till golden brown. Finally, add grated coconut and fenugreek seeds. Saute for a minute and switch off.
- Once it cools down to room temperature, grind the above ingredients to a smooth paste adding little water.
To make the pitlai
- In a pan, add a tsp of sesame oil. Once hot, add mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves. Saute for 30 seconds.
- Add tamarind water, turmeric powder, little salt. Add the bittergourd and cooked chana. Let it boil along with tamarind water till the raw smell of tamarind leaves.
- Add cooked toor dal and masala paste. Add water if needed.
- Let it all cook together until pitlai reaches desired consistency. It should be thick. It takes around 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, taste and add adjust salt. Add a pinch of jaggery to balance the taste.
- Once everything comes together and reaches the desired consistency, garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
Notes
The consistency should be slightly thick.
I usually soak toor dal for 30 mins in warm water and then pressure cook. This helps in cooking faster and also helps in getting a mushy dal. I have also read it helps in better digestion of dal.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!