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14th March 2010

Bitter Gourd Pickle |Pavakai Thokku

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Bringing one more recipe straight from my Granny inventions… yup u read it right .. Bitter Gourd Pickle.. But how does it taste?? Bitter , Sour ?? Guys its Sweet,Hot,Tangy and just yummy…
Let me tell u a little instance what inspired me to make this lovely pickle…
Way back during my India trip , I was looking for a pickle to go for Curd Rice. My mum prompted me to get a little pickle bottle from the fridge and asked me to try it.. I tried a bit and said ..yumm mango pickle…. Later she said.. with a big smile πŸ™‚ Tis Bitter gourd pickle..!!

Am sure u will enjoy it… ! It goes well with just plain rice , curd rice or dosa / idli… anything:)

Total Time : 50 min – 1 hr

INGREDIENTS:

Bitter Gourd ( Pavakai) Medium sized 3 Nos
Tamarind Cricket ball sized
Jaggery Same quantity as the tamarind
Salt  2 Tsp
Turmeric 1.5 Tsp
Chilli Powder 3 Tsp
Sesame oil/Gingelly Oil 4-5 Laddles

For Tempering:

Chana Dal /Kadala Parup  1/2 Tsp
Mustard Seeds 1/2 Tsp
Methi Seeds /Mendiyam 1/2 Tsp

For Powder :

Chana Dal /Kadala Parup 1 Tsp
 Dried Red Chilli/Molaga vettal 2 Nos
Coriander seeds 1 Tsp
Cumin Seeds  1/2 Tsp
Urd Dal/Ultam Parup 1/2 Tsp

DIRECTIONS:

  • Chop Bitter gourd into small pieces and steam it in cooker with a bit of salt and 1/2 tsp Turmeric for 1 whistle. Turn of the gas and keep it aside.
  • Soak Tamarind in 150-175 ml of warm water and keep it aside.Now put it in the blender to get a tangy puree. Pass it thro the frying spatula’s sieve to remove any seeds or strings left over from the tamarind.
  • Heat oil in a deep bottom pan and add all the tempering ingredients.Once Mustard Seeds Splutter , add the collected tamarind puree and jaggery.( Remember to break the jaggery into small pieces before adding it. This will speedy up the process.)
  • Once all the jaggery is melted and blended into the tamarind puree ,add the cooked bittergourd pieces.
  • Add chilli powder , remaining turmeric powder & salt along with 1.5 cups of water.
  • Cook the whole mixture in a low flame until we get a jelly like consistency.Stir in regular intervals inorder to avoid catching at the bottom of the pan.Turn of the gas and keep it aside to cool down.
  • Saute all the ingredients under powder until light brown and grind them to rava size. Add this powder to the Mixture prepared above and stir it well.
  • Transfer this pickle to an airtight container and keep it refrigerated . We can retain it as long as the pickle lasts. I bet you won’t keep it for long πŸ™‚

KITCHEN NOTES:

Use just Sesame Oil. I have used Idhayam’s . Patty ( Granny ) had made a special mention to use this oil.
Urd dal in the powder ingredients leaves a lovely aroma to the pickle.

Cheers

Filed Under: Palakkad Cuisine

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. kitchen queen says

    12th March 2010 at 7:33 pm

    wow Sandhya this pickle makes me drool looks so tempting and inviting to have with thair sadam.

    Reply
  2. Nostalgia says

    12th March 2010 at 7:55 pm

    Beautiful picture and great pickle.. I love home made pickles.

    Reply
  3. simply.food says

    12th March 2010 at 8:22 pm

    What an interesting pickle.Sounds delicious.

    Reply
  4. Angie's Recipes says

    12th March 2010 at 8:31 pm

    Great pictures! I love bitter gourd a lot…but it's not easy to find them here.

    Reply
  5. kothiyavunu says

    12th March 2010 at 8:39 pm

    Wow..My hubby being a great fan of bitter gourd would love this for sure :)looks tangy & very tempting sandhya..lovely presentation..:)

    Reply
  6. Cool Lassi(e) says

    12th March 2010 at 8:42 pm

    Pickle looks mouth-watering! I am sure it taste divine with Yogurt rice and Onion-Sambhar!

    Reply
  7. Rajee says

    12th March 2010 at 8:58 pm

    Lovely click and a yummy pickle. Haven't tasted pavakai pickle yet though remember having heard about it a long time ago.

    Reply
  8. Jagruti says

    12th March 2010 at 8:58 pm

    Beautiful pics of pickle..looks delicious..new for me!!

    Reply
  9. A 2 Z Vegetarian Cuisine says

    12th March 2010 at 10:29 pm

    Wow.. Sandhya, I love homemade pickles, bitter-gourd pickle is very new to me..sounds yummy.

    Reply
  10. jeyashrisuresh says

    12th March 2010 at 10:50 pm

    lovely pictures of the pickle.I am a big fan of pavakkai,but never tasted this delicious pickle.
    "cricket ball sized"tamarind-hahaha new text

    Reply
  11. Ushnish Ghosh says

    12th March 2010 at 11:15 pm

    Dear sandhya
    How are you? Such a nice recipe ..I cant imagine this can be made…and Karela in all form is my favourite…I will trell some one to make it
    Have a nice weekend

    Reply
  12. Gulmohar says

    13th March 2010 at 12:20 am

    Lovely pickle..Nothing beats the home made one..Also I can't agree more with your Patty. Sesame oil is the best ,in this kind of pickles πŸ™‚

    Reply
  13. Pavithra says

    13th March 2010 at 12:34 am

    Oh wow i love bittergourd pickle this looks really tempting .. I have bookmarked to try it.

    Reply
  14. Pavithra says

    13th March 2010 at 4:45 am

    I have not heard about bitter gaurd pickle. Ur pic us really tempting. Will give it a try . Beautiful picture dear

    Reply
  15. Prathibha says

    13th March 2010 at 4:55 am

    This would b a gr8 treat for karela lovers…looks yumm

    Reply
  16. Sharmilee! :) says

    13th March 2010 at 4:59 am

    Sounds totally new!!

    Reply
  17. Deepa says

    13th March 2010 at 5:30 am

    this pickle looks so yummyy..too good..

    Reply
  18. Aruna Manikandan says

    13th March 2010 at 5:42 am

    Bitter gourd pickle sounds interesting and healthy too!!!

    Reply
  19. shanthi says

    13th March 2010 at 6:04 am

    Pickle with bitter gourd? sounds interesting and different.

    Reply
  20. Ms.Chitchat says

    13th March 2010 at 6:40 am

    This is new to me, very very tasty looking pickle. Sure to try soon.

    Reply
  21. Meena says

    13th March 2010 at 9:51 am

    Love this wonderful vegetable and your recipe is to-die-for pavakkai-lovers like me!!! the pics are too much to resist as well!

    Reply
  22. Tina says

    13th March 2010 at 12:57 pm

    Luv this pickle…Nice pics and presentation dear…

    Reply
  23. Rachana Kothari says

    13th March 2010 at 1:52 pm

    Wow!!! I love homemade pickles and have always had home made pickles only… your pics are awesome and the pickle looks really tempting!

    Reply
  24. Nithu Bala says

    13th March 2010 at 2:18 pm

    never made this thokku..looks too good..will try it soon..

    Reply
  25. Gita says

    13th March 2010 at 9:07 pm

    Very interesting pickle with bittergourd Sandhya…I am definitely going to try this πŸ™‚

    Reply
  26. Daisy Blue says

    14th March 2010 at 1:20 am

    Hey first time here.. and the pickle looks amazing.. my hubby hates bitterguard may be I could make him eat with this πŸ™‚ !!Following you..

    Reply
  27. A Homemakers Diary says

    14th March 2010 at 9:25 am

    wow if without the picture you have produced this recipe I would have said nay but you got me drooling here with that delish pickle pic. a must try.

    Reply
  28. Kanchan says

    15th March 2010 at 10:10 am

    I never knew we can prepare this … will surely try this one !

    Btw lovely pics πŸ™‚

    Reply
  29. sowmya's creative saga says

    16th March 2010 at 6:06 am

    lovely recipe.. a must try..first time here..lovely blog with beautiful clicks…

    Reply
  30. Neetz says

    16th March 2010 at 7:41 am

    Hii Sandhya.. i found your blog thru another blogger..woww yaar.. i dont knwo have enough words to say what awesome blog u got.. :)… nice to know u and ur recipes and definitely following u :).. do visit my blog too when u get time πŸ™‚ http://neetzkitchen.blogspot.com/

    I would love u to share ur thoughts and comments on mine :)..

    Luv
    Neethu

    Reply
  31. Parita says

    16th March 2010 at 5:31 pm

    Never knew we could make pickle from bittergourd..sounds very flavorful!

    Reply
  32. Nisha says

    16th March 2010 at 8:46 pm

    Wow , i want to try this one . My mom makes a awesome pavaka curry somewhat like this but it does not have a long shelf life.

    Reply
  33. Aparna says

    17th March 2010 at 5:33 am

    tempting pickle, u put jaggery also..interesting..

    Reply
  34. Hari Chandana says

    17th March 2010 at 11:03 am

    Wow…. My fav recipe.. looks very delicious.. First time here.. wonderful blog.. πŸ™‚

    Reply
  35. Viki's Kitchen says

    17th March 2010 at 8:36 pm

    Thokku with pavakkai looks so tempting dear. Sure its healthy too. Very cute snap..

    Reply
  36. Jessica {The Novice Chef} says

    18th March 2010 at 5:09 am

    I just came across your blog and I am so glad I did! This looks fabulous!

    Reply
  37. Malar Gandhi says

    18th March 2010 at 1:57 pm

    Looks wonderful…very interesting recipe, picture looks awesome:)

    Reply
  38. Ushnish Ghosh says

    18th March 2010 at 7:40 pm

    Dear sandhya
    How are you?
    remember , you wanted to know that simple bengali potato curry recipe? I will send you someday , in the mean time try this one from our blog friend Didibhai'w kitchen. I am sure it will be close to your calcutta exp

    http://gouriguhas.blogspot.com/2010/03/robibarer-porota-aar-aloo-tarkarir.html

    have a nice weekend

    Reply
  39. FoodLovers says

    18th March 2010 at 8:05 pm

    Nice one Sandhya mouth watering pickle dear..
    Looks delicious ..
    Hey Hosting a Give Away if ur Intrested pls STop by

    Reply
  40. Priya says

    19th March 2010 at 9:57 pm

    I love this pickles, looks awesome Sandhya…but never tried making out yet at home, thanks for sharing dear.

    Reply
  41. RAKS KITCHEN says

    20th March 2010 at 4:57 am

    The first picture is really a killer,looks very tempting,I am not big fan of BG except in pickled forms,i recently started liking in this form πŸ˜‰

    Reply
  42. RAKS KITCHEN says

    20th March 2010 at 5:00 am

    The first picture is a killer,very tempting! I am not a big fan of BG except in pickled form,i recently started liking in this way πŸ™‚

    Reply
  43. Sushma Mallya says

    20th March 2010 at 10:03 am

    Hi sandhya,how r u doing?sorry couldnt visit your lovely blog from few days,but will surely come here on…pics of pickle is really tempting and a unique one in pickles, never heard bittergourd being used in it,very interesting one…have a great weekend,do keep in touch…take care

    Reply
  44. Pete says

    20th March 2010 at 4:30 pm

    A good way to suppress the bitterness, thks for the recipe!

    Reply
  45. Meena says

    21st March 2010 at 7:49 am

    following you on google reader to keep track of ur beautiful food creations:)))

    thnx for visiting my space, my friend!

    Reply

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HEY, NICE TO MEET YOU! Hi, I am Sandhya: - a former IT Engineer now Food Blogger. We live in London and my favorite things are Chocolate, Camera and long walks.

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