Bitter Gourd/Paavakka Pachadi

I am not a big admirer of bitter gourds, but I like this pachadi that my mom often makes. I can’t tolerate the bitterness of this vegetable, but in this pachadi, the flavor of coconut and yogurt prevail over the bitterness.

Grind 3/4 cup of coconut with one or two green chillies. Grind it until it turns to a smooth paste. Use up to half a cup of water for grinding and keep aside.

Heat up 1 tbsp oil and add

Finely chopped shallots/onions – 1/3 cup

Cook it for a couple of minutes and add bitter gourd slices. (I used 2 small bitter gourds. Remove the seeds and slice into small pieces. You can sprinkle salt on the bitter gourd pieces and after about 20 minutes you will be able to squeeze out water from the pieces. This helps to get rid of some bitterness. But if you like the bitterness, you don’t have to do this. You might be loosing some nutrients too when you do this.)

Fry it until it turns to a golden color and there is not water left in bitter gourd pieces. Add the ground coconut and salt. Bring it to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes until the curry is thick. Turn off the stove.

Add a cup of yogurt and mix well.

In another pan, heat a tbsp of oil, and add the following:

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – a few

Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp

Whole red chilli – 2

Add it to the pachadi. Serve with rice.

And while I am at it, let me add one more pachadi! :)

This is made with spinach, and since it was a quick fix, I didn’t add coconut paste in this. But you may do so to enhance the taste.

Heat up about a tbsp of oil, and fry minced shallots(1 tbsp). Add chopped spinach(1/2 a bunch) and cook until the leaves are wilted, about 3-5 minutes. You can also add one chopped green chilli. Let it cool. Before serving, add yogurt and mix well. You may do a seasoning with mustard seeds, red chilli etc. as well like I did for the above paavakka pachadi.

Sig's Pavakka Pachadi