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Curry, Diabetic friendly, Glutenfree, Lentils, Tamil Brahmin Recipes, Vegan, Vegetables

Pavakka Pitla – Bittergourd Pitlah

July 8, 2007

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Pavakka Pitla / Pitlah / Pitlai / Parikka Pitlah / South Indian style Bittergourd Curry in a tamarind-lentil base

Pavakka pitla is a kind of sambar made using bittergourd and peanuts in a fresh ground masala with coconut base. The spices, coconut and tamarind mask the bitterness to a great extent while adding layers of flavour to the dish. The soft cooked peanuts will make this dish endearing to anyone who doesn’t like karela. The same can be made with brinjal pieces instead of bittergourd.

As a kid, I was allowed to pick out the bittergourd slices and eat the peanuts in the sambar alone.

I’ve been growing this variety of baby bitter gourd in my kitchen garden. These are not more than 2 inches long if plucked on time, before they turn mature. I’m often asked how to reduce the bitterness in bitter gourd, ironic as it may sound 🙂

Marinating the sliced bitter gourd in salt for 1-2 hours, rinsing and then using it, reduces the bitterness considerably. Also, soaking the slices in sour buttermilk overnight removes almost all traces of bitterness.

The difference between a pavakka sambar and pitla is the addition of groundnuts and a freshly ground paste using coconut.

Pavakkai Pitla ( Bitter ground in spicy tamarind lentil gravy)

Total time: 45 minutes

Serves 4

Pavakka Pitla - Bittergourd Pitlah

A simple, flavoursome Bitter-gourd curry which is similar to a thick sambar, to be served with rice. This is a family recipe and a very popular way to use bitter gourd in Tambrahm cuisine .
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 30 minutes mins
Total Time 50 minutes mins
Servings: 4 serving
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • xbc cup groundnuts raw
  • xbe cup tur dal
  • 2 tbsps tamarind water soaked in hot (1 cup) for an hour
  • 1 tbsp tamarind OR paste
  • 1 tsp salt or to taste
For fresh spice paste:
  • 3 - 4 chillies broken dry red
  • 3 tbsps coriander seeds
  • 1 tbsp chana dal
  • 1 asafoetida small piece (large pinch sized)
  • 1/4 cup coconut desiccated or fresh grated
  • 2 tsps coconut oil For tempering :
  • 1 1/2 tsps curry leaves seeds sprigmustard

Method
 

  1. Preparing spice paste: Roast the spices in 1/4 tsp oil on medium flame until the dal turns golden. Saute the coconut until it is aromatic and light golden in colour. Once cooled, grind the roasted spices, dal and coconut to a fine paste using 1/2 cup water.
  2. Preparing bitter gourds: Wash and top and tail the bitter gourds. Slice them thinly. If you want, slice lengthwise, scoop out seeds and then slice thinly.
  3. Cooking lentils, gourd and peanuts: Place the washed our dal in one of the pressure cooker containers with 2 cups water. Place the sliced gourd and peanuts in another container with xbd cup water. You can place the containers one above the other in the pressure cooker, lentils at the bottom and gourd-peanuts on the top, pressure cook for 2 whistles and then on a low flame for 10 minutes OR
  4. If there is no pressure cooker, cook soaked yellow lentils by boiling in 3 cups water, until soft u2013 approximately 30 minutes. Cook gourd slices and peanuts with xbd cup water, until both are soft u2013 approximately 15 minutes. Keep them aside.
  5. Preparing tamarind extract: Squeeze tamarind well in soaked water, to obtain two cups of tamarind extract. Drain the extract, keep aside.
  6. Assembling the pita: Bring the tamarind extract to a simmer in a kadai / wok. Add the ground spice paste to the simmering tamarind extract along with mashed lentils and bittergourd-peanut mix.
  7. Stir well and bring to a boil.
  8. For tempering: heat 1 tsp cooking oil, add xbd tsp mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add a sprig of curry leaves and slide the tempering over the pitla. Place a cover on the pitla pan until it is time to serve.
  9. Serve hot with steaming rice and a dry curry along with some vadams or papad. A good match for pavakka pitla and rice is carrot curry (dry vegetable) / sweet potato curry or any other mildly sweet tasting vegetable to complement the bitter taste of bitter gourd.

Notes

HOSTING THE JFI - CHILLI THIS MONTH
Rules for participation: Prepare a dish with any form of chillies and post it on your blog on August 1, 2007 with a link to this post. Send me an email at saffrontrail AT gmail.com titled 'JFI' with the permalink to your post alongwith a picture of the dish, preferably in 100 x 100 pixel size, by August 2, 2007. Please also include the name of your blog, recipe name, as well as name and location (if it's ok with you) in the mail.
bitter gourd summer tamarind Tamil Brahmin Recipes
by Nandita Iyer 
26 Comments

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Comments

  1. Asha says: July 8, 2007 at 12:27 pm

    YAY!!! I came back from vacation and was confused who was hosting what and then I came to remind you!!;DThanks.After T’s Spice it up,some more chillies for me.Hey,I have grown some hot Banana peppers/chillies in my garden.Hope that’s okay too since they are chillies as well but yellow in color!

    Reply
  2. bee says: July 8, 2007 at 12:41 pm

    good choice, n.

    Reply
  3. Indira says: July 8, 2007 at 1:45 pm

    Dear Nandita,So sorry to hear about the net problems. I can sense how much pressure you must be under without the net. Please do not worry about a thing about JFI. And please organize the event according to your convenience. If you need any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me. Happy hosting. I love your chilli choice for JFI!- Indira

    Reply
  4. Anonymous says: July 8, 2007 at 3:52 pm

    HiNot related to your post but I tried the vegetable parathas link from the index and I think the link is broken.Just thought I’d let you know.SS

    Reply
  5. musical says: July 8, 2007 at 4:04 pm

    Dear Nandita,Hope that your phone and internet connections are restored soon…..great ingredient btw and yummy recipe too!take care,musical.

    Reply
  6. Johnny says: July 8, 2007 at 4:06 pm

    I love Chilli!!!! see my blog.

    Reply
  7. Swapna says: July 8, 2007 at 5:55 pm

    I miss the Mumbai rains:)). Hope things get back to normal for you.Great choice for JFI!

    Reply
  8. Priya says: July 8, 2007 at 9:39 pm

    Thats a hot choice for the JFI event Nandita, couldn’t expect anything less from you 😉

    Reply
  9. Sig says: July 8, 2007 at 9:54 pm

    Hey I was wondering what happened to you.. Hope the connections are restored soon…. Great choice for JFI..

    Reply
  10. giniann says: July 9, 2007 at 12:43 am

    Couldn’t have picked a better one.

    Reply
  11. Roopa says: July 9, 2007 at 2:57 am

    hope your connection is up! i know how bad it is dear. BTW great choice for JFI with the pouring rains and hot and scpiy to add on 🙂

    Reply
  12. Cynthia says: July 9, 2007 at 4:10 am

    I hope your connections are soon back up. Great choice for this month’s event. Can it be any variety of chilie?

    Reply
  13. Suganya says: July 9, 2007 at 5:37 am

    Great Choice Nandita!

    Reply
  14. Srivalli says: July 9, 2007 at 7:12 am

    hi Nandita…good choice…I was going thr your tambramhim recipes..excellent ones you have…thanks..will be a nice bookmark…Srivalliwww.cooking4allseasons.blogspot.com

    Reply
  15. Vanamala Hebbar says: July 9, 2007 at 1:15 pm

    Dear nandita,Good choice ..sure will post you some chilli recipe ..CheersMalawww.nalapaka.blogspot.com

    Reply
  16. Bharathy says: July 9, 2007 at 6:09 pm

    In a few words I would say…Excellent choice!!My blog name shouts it all..!!!:)..Count me in Nanditha..

    Reply
  17. Indira says: July 11, 2007 at 8:02 pm

    Hi friends,Due to heavy rains and disrupted communications in Mumbai, Nandita doesn’t have internet access at this time. Hence she requested me to respond to any questions related JFI: Chillies Event.Hi Asha and Alice: Thanks for your interest in this event. Yes. Entrees with Banana peppers and chilli varieties – Indian like Guntur mirchi, Kashmir mirchi, Dhani mirchi etc and also western type- poblano, pimento, Habanero, Jamaican Hot etc listed here in this chilli link ) are all welcome in JFI:Chillies.

    Reply
  18. Indira says: July 11, 2007 at 8:07 pm

    I mean Cynthia, not Alice.Sorry for getting your name wrong Cynthia! (Never post a comment in a hurry.:))

    Reply
  19. ramya says: July 12, 2007 at 3:28 am

    Hey di,just came to ur blog to say hi…going good in trivandrum…will mail you..

    Reply
  20. Shubha Ravikoti says: July 12, 2007 at 10:53 pm

    hey there…iam new here.. iam anamateur cook n love cooking (not a verygreat cook though) i wud like to participate in these fest or competiton… please temme how can i??do i need to start my own blog?

    Reply
  21. Indira says: July 15, 2007 at 5:15 am

    Hi Laxmi,Thanks for your interest in JFI:Chilli event. To participate: Please follow the guidelines and post an article or recipe of chilli at your blog, if you have one. Or email to Nandita. Hope this helps.- Indira

    Reply
  22. The Comic Project says: July 15, 2007 at 12:47 pm

    love the recipes here though I don’t like all the vegetables on display 🙂 And I miss my vengaaya sambar very badly…don’t get vengaayam here 🙁

    Reply
  23. Anonymous says: July 18, 2007 at 1:25 am

    Love the recipe here, im gonna surely try it sometime this week if i am not that busy, maybe visit my blog if ya get time Self Improvement

    Reply
  24. zlamushka says: August 1, 2007 at 8:38 am

    Hi Nandita,I sent in my contribution, hope you got my e-mail 🙂 if not, this is for you http://www.burntmouth.com/2007/08/beer-battered-aachar-stuffed-chili.htmlI love chilies, so I cannot wait to try all the recipes displayed in the round up 🙂

    Reply
  25. Anonymous says: August 5, 2007 at 10:53 am

    I love Pahakkai Pitlai. This is a good recipe. (Marriedtoadesi.com Kanchana’s dad!)

    Reply
  26. Rumela says: March 25, 2009 at 9:14 am

    I like this Pahakkai Pitlai recipe. these pitlai recipe are sure to taste great and are extremely nutritious as well. I am going to make a batch for the holidays when my kids will be at home. I’ll be sure that what they are eating is healthy.

    Reply

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