Pitlai is a popular South Indian gravy and very common in Tamil Brahmin households. We make pitlai with poosanikai | Ash gourd and brinjal too. Pavakkai pitlai is my favorite one and my paati makes it very yum. Bittergourd if cooked in a proper way removes all the bitterness and makes the gravy tasty. The Pitlai recipe is very similar to arachuvitta sambar. But we add boiled chana, dried green peas or peanuts to pavakkai pitlai. Also, the spices we add for pitlai are slightly different too. We also make Kathrikkai rasavangi, a similar one to arachuvitta sambar and pitlai. The bitter gourd is cooked in tamarind gravy so it reduces the bitterness of the vegetable. Also, the addition of freshly ground spices enhances the taste and further reduces the bitterness. This is a no onion no garlic recipe too. Generally my mom cooks the bitter gourd along with the chana. But mine was tender so I cooked this in the tamarind gravy. Pavakkai pitlai won’t taste bitter. The tamarind gravy nullifies the bitterness. We can pair pavakkai pitlai with any curry | poriyal of your choice. Also, check out, Kathrikkai rasavangi, Murungakeerai sambar, Thalagam kuzhambu, Arai puli Kuzhambu. Also, we have lots of interesting and tasty recipes using bitter gourd | pavakkai in Jeyashris kitchen Check out Pavakkai curry, Pavakkai thokku, Andhra style bitter gourd podi, and bitter gourd chips recipe. You can also check an interesting lunch menu combo with pavakkai pitlai
Pressure cook the toor dal with 1 and ½ cups of water.Add ¼ tsp turmeric powder while cooking the dal.Cut the bittergourd into roundels.
Soak the chana overnight or for 6-7 hours.Pressure cook this soaked chana for 4 whistles. Add ¾ cup water and little salt while cooking this.
In a pan add 1 tsp oil and roast the coriander seeds, red chili, urad dal, and chana dal.Roast till the dal turns golden brown.
Switch off the flame and add the coconut.
Cool and grind this into a fine paste. You can add water while grinding this.
In a vessel add the tamarind extract, sambar powder, turmeric powder, salt, and asafoetida.
Let this boil for 7 minutes.
Add the cooked toor dal, cooked chana and ground paste to this.Mix well and add 1/2 cup – 1 cup of water to adjust the consistency.
Let this boil for 3-4 minutes. Stir in between.Switch off the flame.
In a pan add 2 tsp of oil (preferably coconut) and add mustard seeds and curry leaves.
Once the mustard splutters add this to the pitlai.Pavakkai pitlai is ready.
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