Pavakkai /(BitterGourd) Pakarkaai Pitlai

Pavakkai / Pakarkaai Pitlai

Pavakkai /Pakarkaai Pitlai (Bitter gourd Pitlai) is an authentic recipe made in our home. Pitlai is kind of a cross between sambar and kootu. I used to make Pitlai in  any one of these veggies (green tomato, katharikai- eggplant, Pakarkaai & Ladies finger).The combination of Thoor dal ,tamarind pulp and spicycoconut paste gives tangy with coconut flavor  gives the unique taste and reduce the bitterness of this vegetable. The pitlai is easy to prepare and quite healthy and served along with steamed rice and ghee .But the classic combination for pitlai is with morkuzhambu! It is one of our favorite dish.I often make this pitlai.

Ingredients:

Bitter gourd – 4 medium chopped and quartered

Toor dal – 1/2 cup (washed and cooked with a pinch of turmeric)

Tamarind – Lemon sized ball

Turmeric  Powder – ½ tsp

Salt to taste

To Roast & Grind:

Oil-1 tsp

Coriander seeds – 1 tbsp

Channa dal – 3/4  tbsp

Long dry red chilies – 5

Shredded coconut – 1/2 cup

For seasoning:

Oil – 1 tsp

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

 Urad dal – 1 tsp

Shredded coconut-1tbsp

curry leaves-1 spring

A pinch of asafetida

 

Method:

1.Slit the bitter gourds and remove the seeds. Cut it into small pieces. Sprinkle little salt and mix well. Keep it aside.

2.Soak tamarind in water and extract thick pulp, drain the pulp and set aside.

3.Pressure cook the toordal and smash it and keep it aside.

4.Pour the oil in the pan and fry the red chillies, coriander seeds, channa dal till its turn golden brown color then add shredded coconut and turn off the stove. Let it cool down and grind it to a paste.

5.Cut bitter gourd into small pieces. In a vessel pour the tamarind extract; add the bitter gourd pieces and squeeze out all the water and add turmeric powder and salt. Bring to boil. Till the raw smell of tamarind goes and the vegetable is cooked.

6.Once the vegetable is cooked add the mashed dal and stir well. Bring to boil. Then add the spice paste and allow boiling for about few  mins. Add water by checking for consistency. Remove from heat.

7.For seasoning, in a teaspoon of oil, pop mustard seeds, add urad dhal, asafoetida, coconut and curry leaves, saute till golden colour and add it to the Pitlai.

8.If you desire, you can add a small piece of jaggery to lessen the bitterness.

9.Yummy Pavakkai Pitlai is ready. Goes well with steaming hot rice and ghee/morkuzhambu and pappad.

Thakkali kai kootu

Tomatillos (Raw) curry - Thakkali kai kootu

Tomatillos (Pachai Thakkali also called green tomatoes) are cheap and available easily in Market. I love this Kootu for its tangy flavor. This kootu can be made quickly with dal and I usually add Dals in part of our daily meal. In that way I keep adding some or the other vegetable to the dals and make them into kootu, or in dry curry. So here is the simple and healthy raw tomato kootu. This kootu can be made quickly and had with Rice or Roti.

Ingredients:

Tomatillos/ Thakkali kai – 4

Moong dhal- 1 cup(cooked)

Grated/shredded coconut -1/2 cup

Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Black gram dal – 1tsp

Red chillies - 3 nos.

Curry leaves – few

Salt to taste

Oil  - 1 tsp

 

Method:

1.Wash and cook the dal and keep it aside. Cut tomatillos into small pieces.

2.Preheat pan add chopped raw tomato with water, to cook until done.

3.Blend coconut with Red chilli & grind to a fine paste.

4.Then Add cooked moong dhal &coconut paste in the raw tomato ,mix  & cook well.

5.Temper with mustard seed, urad dhal & curry leaves.

6.Serve with Rice,or Rotis.

Raw Banana Kootu/Vazhakkai Puli Kootu

This Vazhakkai Kootu is something different from Vazhakkai curry & Podimas. This tangy type of kootu which is made of lentils, plantain and spices. This Raw Banana kootu boil in lentils, tamarind water with jaggerry , sambar powder, add scraped coconut friend in coconut oil . It gives a great taste. You can serve it with Plain rice or accompanied by Mor Kuzhambu /rasam with papad.

Ingredients:

Green plantains, peeled and chopped-2

Tuvar dal cooked and mashed well-1 cup

Tamarind –small gooseberry size dissolved in water

Chana dal (bengal gram)- 3 tbsp

Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

Sambhar Powder- 1 tsp

Rice flour- 1 tsp

Salt-as per taste

To temper:

 Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp

 Urad dal – 1/2 tsp

 Channa dal – 1/2 tsp

Grated Coconut – 1 tbsp

 Hing – 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves – Few

Coconut oil – 1 tsp 

METHOD:

1.Pressure Cook the dhal and keep it aside.

2.Cut the raw banana into small cubes and allow it to cook with tamarind extract and 3 tbsp of channa dal, sambhar powder, turmeric Powder salt & required water.

3.When the mixture starts to boil add the smashed tuvardhal& small amount of jaggery.

4.Mix the rice flour in little water and add to the kootu to make it a thick consistency and let it boil for sometime

 5.In a separate pan add the oil and Temper the mustard seeds, urad & channa dal , hing and grated coconut. 

6.Roast the coconut well and add all the tempered items to the kootu.

 7.Finally add a tsp of coconut oil for additional flavor. Now the delicious puliita kootu is ready to serve.

  8.Mix with plain rice topped with ghee or serve as an accompaniment.

THENGAI ARACHA KEERAI

Thengai aracha keerai is a simple and healthy dish.Coconut, jeera and coconut oil enhanced its flavor in keerai. It goes well with sambar, vathakuzambu and It can be taken with thayir satham also.We all love this Thengai aracha keerai which is a regular preparation at home. We love this dish with some hot plain rice or with sambhar sadam .Simple to make and with abundance flavor.

Ingredients:

Spinach (keerai) - 1 bunch (finally chopped)

Hing- 1tsp

Coconut- 1 cup

Jeera- 2 tsp

Rice- 1 tsp

Green chili- 1

Redchilli -2

Salt to taste

Oil – 2 tsp

For seasoning

Mustard seeds- 1 tbsp

Urad dal – 1 tbsp

Curry leaves- few

Coconut oil- 2 tsp

Redchilli-1

Method

1.Boil the spinach In a very heavy bottom pan  place the chopped spinach leaves with half cup water and cook till spinach to completely wilt and release the water content.
2.Once thoroughly cooked, remove the pot from flame Keep mashing the spinach in the pot with the heavy iron /wooden spoon, until the spinach is creamy.

3.In the mean time, grind the coconut, jeera, rice and green ,red chili to a fine paste . Now add the grinded paste and salt  in mashed spinach. Allow it to boil for 5 minutes till the raw smell goes away.

4.In a small skillet, place 1 tsp of coconut oil add the mustard seeds, when it splutters, add the uraddal. Fry until light golden, and then add the red chilli and hing.

5. Saute for a few seconds until crisp and slide the tempering onto the mashed spinach. Add the coconut oil to the keerai. Switch off the stove Serve hot with Sambhar Rice or Curd Rice.

Pumpkin Kootu & Jeera Rasam

Pumpkin Kootu & Jeera Rasam for His Cooking Event:

My husband is a wonderful cook. He loves cooking! He usually cooks south indian style food,. Sometimes he puts together the craziest combos and finds them amazing!! I don’t have the heart to tell him. Usually I dont allow him to cook.when I feel sick or busy with my work he use to cook. .when he cooks Just I love his kathrikai pitlai and this kootu. He has made this several times, but somehow I never managed to take a photo.I told him about This  event. Exclusively he cooked his fav jeera rasam & pumpkin kootu for Priti's His Cooking Event.

Yellow Pumpkin Kootu:

Ingredients

Yellow pumpkin.......1/2 kg

Grated coconut..............1 ½ cup

Chana dhal..................1/2 cup

Cumin seed..................1tsp

Red Chilli..................2

Mustard seed................1tsp

Urad Dhal...................2tsp

Curry leaves................few

Turmeric powder.............1/2tsp

Salt to taste

Method

Wash, peel the skin and cut the Pumpkin into small pieces.

Boil water, add the pieces, chana dhal and turmeric powder.

Grind the coconut, cumin seeds and red chilli into a paste.

When the vegetable is cooked add the coconut paste and salt. Mix them well.

.Heat a pan with oil add mustard seeds, urad dhal, 3tsp of coconut and curry leaves.

When the coconut turns into red , add this to the kootu.

 It is very tasty and eat with sambar sadam, &with rasam sadam.

Jeera Rasam

This rasam is my husband’s  favourite . Can be cooked very fast.

Ingredients

Jeera -1 tsp

Red chilli -1

Toor dal -1 Tbsp

Tamarind small size ( soaked in hot water and squeezed to pulp).

Salt to taste.

For seasoning Curry leaves 1 twig, 1 teaspoon ghee.

Method:

Soak the jeera, red chillies and toor dal in warm water for 20 minutes.

Grind to fine paste, add other ingredients and 2 cups water.

Boil this on a medium flame till froth appears

 Heat ghee in a small kadai add the curry leaves and fry for a moment, Add to the rasam.

Serve hot with rice& Chutta Applam