Pavakka Achar / Bitter Gourd Pickles – Kerala style recipes

Bitter Gourd Pickles recipes -Kerala style achar

Bitter gourd is one of a unique vegetable-fruit that can either be used as a medicine or food. Bitter gourd juice is known to have a unique quality of reducing the blood glucose level.

Pavakka Achar / Bitter Gourd Pickles

Ingredients

• Pavakka / bitter gourd – 2 medium-large, thinly sliced
• Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
• Green chillies – 2 – 3, slit
• Salt – To taste
• Oil – To deep-fry
• Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Ginger – 1 tbsp, thinly sliced
• Garlic – 10 – 12 small cloves (Halve the large cloves)
• Curry leaves – A few
• Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
• Kashmiri chilly powder – 1.5 tbsp
• Fenugreek powder – 1/4 tsp
• Hing / kaya podi / asafoetida – 1 pinch
• Vinegar – 1/4 cup

How to prepare

• Marinate Bitter gourd with turmeric powder, slit green chillies, salt, set aside for 15-20 minutes
• Heat oil in pan and deep fry bitter gourd until they turn light brown colour
• Heat oil in a pan or  cheena  chatti splutter mustard seeds, fry ginger, garlic and curry eaves. When they turn golden switch of the gas and add salt, chilly powder, fenugreek powder and kayam.  Mix well and cook for few seconds until their raw smell leaves.  Add fried bitter gourd pieces, vinegar and mix well..Pavakka achar is ready

Pavakka Achar / Bitter Gourd Pickle in different taste – using green chilly/birds’eye chilli/kanthari mulaku

• Ingredients:
• Bittergourd 3
• Green chilly or kanthari mulaku 8 to 10
• Sliced garlic 10 pods
• Sliced ginger 1 1/2 Tbsp
• Curry leaves one handful
• Fenugeek seeds 1/2 Tsp
• Mustard seeds 1 Tsp
• Gingely / veg oil
• Vinegar 1/2 cup
• Water 1/2 cup
• Salt

Method
Clean and cut bitter gourd into lengthwise pieces. Mix it with little salt and vinegar and keep it aside for 1 hr or more. Squeeze it and keep it aside (the above procedure helps to decrease the bitterness). Heat oil in a kadai and add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. When it splutters, add curry leaves, sliced ginger, garlic and green chilly. Saute it for few mins and add a pinch of turmeric powder and salt. Pour water and vinegar into this and boil it well. Reduce the flame and place the bitter gourd, mix it and remove it from fire.

Bitter gourd uses,medicinal values health benefits

How to plant bitter gourd climbers? where do we get plants seeds ?Is it available on line