Bitter gourds are good source of vitamins, minerals especially vitamin A, B1, B2, C and iron and has dietary fiber. It is low in calories and has lot of medicinal properties . It is said to be very useful in case of diabetic and also helps in treating blood disorders. It helps to improve the immune system and increases body’s resistance against infection. So do not ignore this vegetable because of its bitter taste. Now to the simple recipe – Bitter gourd curry. It tastes great with chapatti, roti and goes well as a side dish for rice. It is know as Karela in Hindi and pavakkai in tamil. Today we will learn how to make bitter gourd curry following this easy recipe with step wise pictures.
Bitter gourd Curry
They love each other
Now that Valentine’s Day is nearing, I thought of presenting all the dishes I post till Feb 14 th with the theme LOVE. This is just to add fun ….
Bitter gourd Curry-Sabzi
Prep Time : 10 mins
Cook Time : 20 mins
Serves: 2-3
Recipe Category: Side Dish
Recipe Cuisine: South Indian
Serves: 2-3
Recipe Category: Side Dish
Recipe Cuisine: South Indian
Ingredients needed
Bitter gourd (pavakkai) – 250 grams
Onion – 1 cup chopped
Tomatoes – 1 cup chopped
Tamarind – very less (soak it in 1/3 cup of warm water)
Salt as required
Spice Powder
Turmeric powder –a pinch
Chilli powder – ½ tsp
Coriander powder -1 tsp
For the seasoning
Oil – 2 ½ tbsp
Red chillies – 3
Asafoetida – a pinch
Curry leaves
Preparation
Cut bitter gourd into round shapes. Remove the seeds. You can use the seeds if they are tender.
Take tamarind extract and keep it aside.
Method
Heat oil in a kadai or small pressure cooker, add mustard seeds, asafoetida, red chillies and curry leaves. When mustard splutters, add chopped onion and sauté until they turn transparent.
Then add tomatoes, chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and sauté until tomatoes become a little soft.
Add bitter gourd pieces and sauté for another 5 minutes. Add salt and diluted tamarind extract.
Close the cooker and pressure cook for 1 whistle. If you are making the curry in a kadai, cook covered stirring in between until the vegetable is soft. It will take a longer time than pressure cooker.
Once the pressure subsides, open the cooker, mix the contents well and simmer for 5 minutes. If there is water, cook until the water evaporates. I added a tsp of my vegetable curry powder to give more flavor to the curry. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve as an accompaniment for rice or chapati. Enjoy preparing this easy and healthy bitter gourd sabzi.
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What a fantastic post !! Nice recipe and amazing stuff !! Heard of this for the very first time and it is looking yummy too !!
Wow I'm speechless dear….For 5 good minutes i was just staring at the picture of your Bitter Gourd Curry. The curry looks very tasty. I have seen many delicious items but a combination of great recipe and best creativity is witnessed from your post.
Thanks for dropping by my blog and leaving lovely comment.Would love to see you more often ….
Deepa
http://hamareerasoi.blogspot.com/
Oh God..I was shocked when I saw ur post..is that for real..very lovely presentation with my fav bittergroud which is definitely mouth-watering…
This is one vegg i hate, but that pic og the 2 corocodile bittergourd made a big smile on my face 🙂
Wow!!! so delicious..I love bitter gourd…and always in the look out for new recipe..
Mouthwatering dish, wish I could get some Bitter gourd now.
You are so very creative and always come up with unique presentation… the curry looks delicious…
A big hug for dropping by my blog and posting your comment. I was looking for a good Karela recipe and here it is 🙂 Love the art work on the veggies
Simi
itsallaboutfood.wordpress.com
I too try to use bittergourd very often in my cooking Padma…your dish sounds absolutely delicious…will try it soon dear 🙂
Lovely post padhu,
love the curry the way you made it..really tempting..can't stop looking at your lovely couple… (karela crocodile)….
stunning work dear…i don't know what to comment…really amazing…so innovative…they love each other?i 'm in love with them already:)..n the recipe is too good n healthy…my god..you are so creative…keep it up…always you rock!
amazing creativity u have padhu,i do only fried bittergourd always but not havent done curry with it still…thanks for sharing …
Wwow Padhu, i should learn how to present a dish neatly from u…My fav curry, lovely bittergourd crocodiles…
We eat bitter gourd in Japan also! It is very very healthy vegetable. I don't see it much here in the U.S. though. Your curry looks good!
Great presentation and yummy too. So creative…can't take my eyes off looking at the crocodile….
http://treatntrick.blogspot.com
Padhu,
Nice healthy dish .I love bitter gourd in any form. You are really creative. Amazed by fun loving crocodiles
WOOOOW! loved d pic! U r so creative! Hats off to u! this curry looks really delicious! looking forward to c more dishes from LOVE theme 🙂
Renuka
http://cookingyummy.blogspot.com/
Sure they do and you are a talent, Padhu 🙂
This is a new curry for me..thanks !
Ouch I hate reptile make me goose bump! Sorry 🙁 But the dish I adore BG 🙂
nice presentation.. we loved the alligators… love this bitter gourd curry..
first time here, nice recipe, never tried krelas this way…..like the allegators u made….btw thankx for visiting…will see u again…
bitter gourd is my hubbys favorite..looks yummy:)
i love bitter gourd very much.nice carvings..adding tomato is new to me.
Curry looks yummm.. and I love the presentation so much.. Nice ideas.. keep it going.. you excite me every time 🙂
my hubbys favorite too…ll surely try ur version soon..looks so yum!
nice and good.
Eeeks.. I am so scared of crocodiles.. and more scared of bitter gours 😉 Yeah not a vegetable that I have evebr bought or made…
But yours look really temting da!
Very innovative!!! Love those crocodiles…
wow! that's looking yummy!
EFM – Mutton Series event is going on here (http://www.srishkitchen.com/2009/12/efm-mutton-series.html) and the deadline is feb.15th. join with us in the event!
Delicious recipe! Thank for visiting. Kiss
this looks so creative and cute!! the recipe is a delicious one but i'm more attracted to your loving crocodiles, hehehehe
nice dish. I love the crocodile shaped karelas
Thank you Padhu!!! I try not to look at food blogs when at work coz it makes me hungry.And I keep asking my friends at Collaborative Curry to send me some food.
I will try this dish out for sure!! The crocodiles are very creative .Wonder what you will come up with next??!!
Loved your post Padhu..and those two little, bitter crocodiles.
nice presentation!!
Hi Padhu,
Extremely pleasing recipe. Your blog is too good. Liked all the recipes. Thanks for visiting my blog and for the comments. do try and let me know about it. I am following you friend.
My MIL makes a similar dish but I remove off the seeds and saute the Bittergourd separately looks very nice and warm!!! Oh I forgot to mention the croc's sitting they look brilliant!!!
This is an interesting preparation Padhu!
loved to read your writeup about love and bitter gourd; it was enough to covert this ardent bitter-gourd hater to take a look at this veggie again! What a beautiful presentation! Loved those alligators 😀
Hey Padhu,
Thanks for leaving your comments in by blog. This dish is mindblowing, and I love bittergourd in any form. But mostly end up dry roasting them with a little sugar to reduce its bitterness to make it husband friendly 🙂
Fantastic presentation! Really neat! Thanks for visiting!
Yummy bitter gourd curry, looks delicious…lovely bittergourd crocodiles.
Love bitter gourd and love the crocs! vary creative!
nice presentation!!!perfect for the health nut event
I do not like bitter guard but my sister likes it. I will recomment this recipe to her.
This looks delicious and you really have an amazing talent, we're speechless! The recipe is fantastic and we think the same about the presentation!
Hugs, Sabrina&Luca
This recipe is simply fantastic and you have a real talent! We're speechless and we'd like to prepare this recipe too!
Hugs, Sabrina&Luca
Love Ur Wonderful Presentation & Yummy collection of recipes..
First time 2 ur Gr8 space..wil b visiting often..ive added u 2 my blogroll..
Keep up with the good work
regards
deepti
Your curry looks so delicious! I've never cooked bitter gourd before but you made it sounds so tempting. Your presentation is absolutely outstanding!!! You're really talented, I'm so impressed:)
curry looks perfect!!and also ur presentation is very nice………
That's a simply delicious curry ,thanks for taking the challenge.I love those Croc. Carving 😀
i likes pakakai…but never prepared in my own….yesterday i was prepared it for dinner…i never imagined it can go well with chapathi…but its nice combo….excellent taste…your recipe is very helpful and easy to follow it…thank you so much…
Thanks for this curry..small feedback..I added some sugar before pressure cooking..it tasted awesome!! and also some curry leaves could be added if liked..
After pressure cooking it is mentioned that simmer for 5 minutes. can you explain this step?
Uday- Simmer for 5 minutes means cook for another 5 minutes in very low heat/flame.Hope it is clear now.
What about removing bitterness from pavakkai will it be OK. Or soak it in salt water for half an hour and drain it to remove bitterness. Is it ok Ms Padhu
Bitter gourd will be bitter. I love the taste of the bitter gourd. Moreover it is good for health. This curry will not be very bitter as we have added tomatoes. But if you want, you can soak it in salt water.
Padhu, I added mashed potato and found the bitterness coming down considerably. As alternate, you can try boiled and mashed lentils depending on the taste but hell a lot of thanks of to you Padhu. First time I am able to cook bitter gourd better.
Wow very nice,today I tried it came out very well
This Recipe is very nice.. I tried for my dinner yday with chapatis. My kids also enjoyed it.. Thanks Padma
It came out really tasty thanks for the recepie
Hi Padhu, thank you for posting out various recipes. For this particular bitter gourd curry recipe, can you share exactly how much of tamarind to use and for how long to soak? That will be helpful. Appreciate it!
Just 3 inches of tamarind, soak it in little hot water for 15-20 mins. You can substitute tamarind with 1/2 tsp of amchur powder or dry mango powder.
Thank you so much for getting back Padhu. Appreciate it.