Pavakkai Thokku Recipe – A spicy and tangy, south Indian dish made with bitter gourd. Bitter gourd(Karela) is a healthy vegetable and it is very good for diabetics.
Bitter Gourd is known by different names in different languages. Karela in Hindi, Hagalakayi in Kannada, Kakarakaya in Telugu and Pavakkai in Tamil. This vegetable has numerous Health benefits and High on Nutrition.
- Helps maintain Blood sugar level and hence good for Diabetics.
- Helps in Weight loss.
- Keeps your skin and hair glowing and lustrous.
- Helps to maintain a healthy liver and kidney.
Many would not like bitter gourd. The bitterness will make many stay away from this healthy vegetable. Even I’m not very much fond of this vegetable. But my husband loves it. If you wish to include bitter gourd/ pavakkai in your diet, then start with this dish. You will start loving Pavakkai. This thokku has the right balance of bitterness from Pavakkai / bitter gourd, Tanginess from Tamarind and sweetness from Jaggery. There is an untold rule in Tamilnadu to add Jaggery in most dishes which include Tamarind. Jaggery and Tamarind go hand in hand. You can have this thokku along with Plain rice or even curd rice. Now let’s move onto this recipe. Follow Pavakkai Thokku recipe with step by step pictures.
This post was first published on June, 2018. now it has been updated in March, 2020 with more details.
How to make Pavakkai Thokku
1. Keep your Ingredients Ready!
2. Cut the bitter gourd into slices or into halves if using baby pavakkai.
3. Soak the tamarind in ½ cup of water and extract the juice.
4. In a pressure cooker, add pavakkai, shallots, tomato, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt and 1 tsp of oil.
5. Add enough water to immerse. Pressure cook for 2 whistles. Let the pressure release naturally.
6. In a pan, add sesame oil. This gives a wonderful taste to the Masala. Add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds. The oil will start to foam. Now add curry leaves and hing.
7. Add cooked mixture along with the water.
8. Now add tamarind juice and Jaggery. (Taste and add tamarind water accordingly)
9. Let it simmer for 15 mins or until Thokku consistency.
10. Serve hot with steamed rice.
Tips for making Bitter gourd Thokku
- To remove bitterness from pavakkai, cut it into pieces and remove the seeds. Now sprinkle salt and mix well. Keep this aside for 30 mins. Squeeze out the water content which is out now. Wash it well and use for cooking. This reduces the bitterness to an extent.
- Alternatively, you can soak pavakkai in buttermilk for 30 mins also.
Pavakkai Thokku Recipe
Pavakkai Thokku | Bitter Gourd Thokku
Ingredients
- 150 Grams Pavakai/ bitter gourd
- 1/2 cup Shallots
- 1 Tomato
- Tamarind – a lemon sized
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 2 tsp Red chilli powder
- 2 tsp Coriander powder
- 1 tbsp Jaggery
- Salt – as required
For tempering:
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds
- Curry leaves – few
- 3 tbsp Sesame oil/ Gingelly oil
- Hing – a pinch
Instructions
Preparation for pavakkai thokku
- Cut the bitter gourd into slices or into halves if using baby pavakkai.
- Soak the tamarind in ½ cup of water and extract the juice.
How to make pavakkai thokku
- In a pressure cooker, add pavakkai, shallots, tomato, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt and 1 tsp of oil. Add enough water to immerse.
- Pressure cook for 2 whistles. Let the pressure release naturally.
- In a pan, add sesame oil. This gives a wonderful taste to the Masala.
- Add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds. The oil will start to foam.
- Now add curry leaves and hing.
- Add cooked mixture along with the water.
- Now add tamarind juice and Jaggery. (Taste and add tamarind water accordingly)
- Let it simmer for 15 mins or till it forms a thokku consistency
- Serve hot with steamed rice.
Notes
- To remove bitterness from pavakkai, cut it into pieces and remove the seeds. Now sprinkle salt and mix well. Keep this aside for 30 mins. Squeeze out the water content which is out now. Wash it well and use for cooking. This reduces the bitterness to an extent.
- Alternatively, you can soak pavakkai in buttermilk for 30 mins also.
You may want to try other recipes from my blog
Mushroom and Potato Pepper fry
Did you Try this Pavakkai Thokku Recipe?
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This is tempting 🙂 I do have some bitter gourd, let me see if i can make this.
Looks authentic ????
Yay.. nice background ????