Bitter Gourd Thoran

Bitter Gourd Curry is a nutritious dish that goes well with rice.Pavakka or bitter gourd thoran is a popular side dish in lunch/dinner menu and is a dry crunchy Kerala dish.In order to reduce the bitterness while preparing Bitter Gourd Thoran, some people rub salt on bitter gourd pieces and squeeze out water from it.



Recipe Source : Kerala Recipes

Ingredients:

Bitter Gourd/Karela - 2
Sliced Shallots (Pearl Onions) – 1/2 cup
Dry Red chilli - 2 or 3
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Crushed Garlic – 4 or 5 cloves
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Onion - 1 small, chopped fine
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Chilly powder - 1 tsp (You may use green chillies as a substitute)
Curry leaves - a few
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup


Method :

Cut the bitter gourd and discard the seeds. Chop into small pieces.

Mix together coconut, turmeric powder, red chilly powder, cumin and garlic using your hands or you can coarsely grind everything together.

Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard and cumin seeds, then add shallots, chillies and curry leaves and saute for a few minutes.

Add  bitter gourd and salt and fry well for a few minutes.

Next add the coconut mixture and mix well.

Cover the pan and cook on medium-low flame, stirring occasionally. Do not add water while cooking.

After 10-12 minutes, the bitter gourd will be cooked. Remove the lid and stir fry for another 4-5 minutes so that the water evaporates completely and the thoran is dry.

Remove from the gas and serve hot with plain rice.

Sending this to Priya's "Bookmarked Recipes-Every Tuesday (Volume 75)" event and Kaveri's "Kerala Kitchen" event