Pavakkai Pitlai | Pavakkai Sambar

Pavakkai pitlai also known as pavakkai sambar is a spicy south Indian gravy prepared by cooking bitter gourd with toor dal, spices and tamarind juice. Bitter gourd / Bitter melon is known as Pavakkai in tamil, Kakarakaya in telugu and Karela in hindi. Pavakkai is rich in nutrients and has lot of medicinal uses.  This sambar goes well with rice. The best part of this sambar is no onion, no garlic and no tomato is used in preparing this sambar. Please check below for step by step instructions and pictures for preparing South Indian Pavakkai Sambar.

Preparation Time:     5 mins

Cook Time :                25 mins

Ready in :                   30 mins
Yields :                         4 Servings

Ingredients:

Table 1: To fry and grind

Coriander seeds | Dhaniya	2 tsp
Channa dal | Kadalai paruppu	2 tsp
Black pepper | Milagu	1 tsp
Shredded coconut	2 tbsp
Red Chillies	3
Asafoedita | Perungayam	1/4 tsp

Table 2:

Oil	2 tsp
Mustard seeds	1/4 tsp
Curry leaves	3-5
Toor Dal | Thuvaram paruppu	1/4 Cup
Small size Bitter gourd	1
Tamarind	Half Lemon Size
Jaggery	1.5 tsp
Salt	As needed

Instructions:

• Wash and soak toor dal for 30 mins.  Wash and cut bitter gourd into small pieces. Remove the seeds. Pressure cook toor dal, bitter gourd and turmeric powder  along with enough water for 3-4 whistles.

• Dry roast all the ingredients mentioned in table 1 separately and grind it to smooth paste by adding enough water.

• Soak tamarind in hot water for 10 minutes. Squeeze the seeds and fibre to get the tamarind juice. 

                       

• Heat Oil in a pan. Add mustard and curry leaves. When mustard splutters, add cooked toor dal, bitter gourd. 

•  Add grind-ed mixture and fry for a min. Add salt and tamarind juice. 

• When sambar boils,add jaggery. Allow sambar to thicken.

Pavakkai Pitlai

Tips:
Adjust pepper and red chillies to your taste.
Bitter gourd and toor dal can be cooked separately. In order to speed up the process, I have cooked bitter gourd and toor dal together.