Pavakka pulincurry / Kaipakka pulincurry without coconut -

Pavakka pulincurry / Kaipakka pulincurry without coconut – a delicious mouth puckering tart traditional curry made with Indian bitter gourd and tamarind. It is a blend of all tastes like bitter, tart sweet and salty flavors put in the right proportion nothing exceeds the other and tastes excellent with rice.

A typical lunch at my house with all flavors pulled from my ancestral home in Palakkad.

Other bitter gourd recipes you can find here are STUFFED bittergourd , Pavakka kichadi (Bittergourd in yogurt gravy) a Trivandrum spl and Pavakka puli kuzhambu (Bittergourd in tamarind and coconut gravy.

Pavakka pulincurry Kaipakka pulincurry without coconut

To what extend do u think ‘alike’ impacts your everyday life?

I was shopping for some summer clothes the other day. As I stood there checking the racks an Indian couple was having a heated argument next to me. Ill – effects of knowing more than one language ? I could understand every word, not that I was trying to 🙂 .

The man was weirdly trying to convince his wife to buy the same color and matching outfit he was buying. He kept telling it will look nice in photos…She looked rather angry and unconvinced. She finally scoots to the trial room with something. The man comes back and tells his kids not to blabber any comment and dissuade her from buying it I was not expecting that to happen. He even gave them a rehearsal on what to say. God!! I did not wait to see the outcome.

I was forced to wonder why? why on earth do u want your wife to look like ur TWIN ?!!

I am sure you are with me in thinking the same but wait till u read this…

Two days later I was hurriedly going out in my khakis and t shirt guess what !! as I step out I find my husband looks just like my twin. I glare at him and he reciprocates with his classic grinnn…
We both hate matchy- matchy but of late I feel we both even look alike :))) Can the blame be safely put on the food we eat!!

Recipe :
Ingredients:
Kaipakka/ Pavakka / Bitter gourd – 2 -3 medium sized chopped into thin slices
Small onion/shallot / cheriya ulli – 10- 12
Green chili – 2
Chili powder- 1 tsp
Coriander powder -3 -4 tsps
Turmeric powder – 1/3 tsp
Tamarind – 1 small lemon sized ball dissolved in water
Fenugreek powder – 1/2 tsp (Dry roast seeds until dark brown not black and powder it)
Coconut oil – 3- 4 tsp
Pinch of sugar or jaggery to balance the bitter n tart flavors (optional)

Seasoning:
Mustard- tsp
Whole red chili –
Curry leaves- few

Method:
Heat coconut oil add bitter gourd, green chili and small onion saute until the onion becomes slight brown color add chili powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder saute until the powders turn slightly brown and nicely roasted powder smell comes.
Add tamarind extract,sugar or jaggery allow it to boil well add enough water needed and let the gravy thicken now add fenugreek powder and remove from flame.
Season by heating few tsps of coconut oil add mustard seeds when it splutters add red chili and curry leaves. Pour this over the curry.

Serve spicy pavakka pulin curry with rather bland vellapayar upperi (vanpayar mezhukkupuatti, red chori sautteed) mulakku varuthathu (curd chili), chammanthi podi salad, pappaddam and fish fried (salmon shallow fried)