Pavakkai Pitlai

I have heard about this but never tried it until today. I saw the recipe at Kaveri's Palakkad Chamayal when I was browsing through her blog for the Blog Hop Wednesday. I was paired with Kaveri for the event and I chose this recipe to try out. Pitlai is a tamarind based gravy. It was delicious with rice. I couldn't stop eating this wonderful gravy. My hubby also liked it very much. Thank you Kaveri for the nice recipe. 



Recipe Source: Kaveri of Palakkad Chamayal
Ingredients:
Bitter Gourd/ Pavakkai-200gm
Tamarind-Lemon sized ball
Toor Dhal-3tbs
Jaggery-1tbs
Turmeric Powder-1/2tsp
Coconut Oil-1tsp
Olive Oil-4tbs
Mustard-1tsp
Curry Leaves-a sprig
Salt-to taste


For The Masala:
Hing / Perungayam-1/4tsp
Channa Dhal/ Kadalai Paruppu-1tsp
Pepper-1/4tsp
Red Chilly-3
Grated Coconut-1/2cup


Procedure:
1. Dry roast all the ingredients for the masala and grind to a fine paste.
2. Soak tamarind and extract juice out of it.
3. Pressure cook the toor dhal and mash it.
4. Heat oil and saute the bitter gourd pieces for 5-7minutes.
5. Add the tamarind extract, turmeric powder, salt and jaggery.
6. Let it boil until the raw smell of tamarind vanishes completely.
7. Add the paste and add water to bring it to gravy consistency. Let it boil for 2-3minutes.
8. Heat coconut oil and add mustard and curry leaves.
9. Pour this into the gravy and transfer it to a serving bowl.
10. Serve hot with steamed rice.

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