PAVVAKKAI (BITTER GOURD )PITLA

Ingredients(for four Persons)

150 gms Bitter gourd

Lemon sized ball of Tamarind


Little Jaggery


For Grinding

Half Coconut scraped

1 tbs Channa dhall

1 tbs Urad dhall

4 Red chillies

1 tsp oil

1 tbs Coriander seeds

For Seasoning

1 tsp Mustard

2 tbs Scraped coconut

One sprig of curry leaves

1 tbs oil


Preparation

Soak the tamarind and squeeze the pulp. Cut the bitter gourd into semicircle pieces. Fry all the ingreidients for grinding to a paste in a mixture. With little oil fry the bitter gourd pieces in a frying pan. Transfer the vegetables to the tamarind pulp and cook it with little turmeric powder and jaggery. Add salt to taste. Once the bitter gourd is cooked add the ground paste with water and allow it to simmer. Season it with mustard, scraped coconut and curry leaves with oil. Add the seasoning to the Pitalai.

Variation

The same pitalai can be prepared with Brinjal. Same ingredients and the same preparation but only the vegetable vary.

VENDHIYA PULI

Ingredients (for four persons)

Lemon size ball of Tamarind

4 Green chilles

one sprig of curry leaves

1 tsp turmeric powder

small piece of Jaggery

For the Powder

1 Tbs Fenugreek seeds

1 Tbs Rice

4 Red Chillies

For seasoning

1 tsp mustard

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

1 tbs til oil



Preparation

Soak the tamarind in water and squeeze the pulp. Add turmeric powder and the salt and jaggery. Roast all the ingredients and make it to a powder in a mixture like rawa. Boil the tamarind water with all the ingredients till the raw smell disappears. Slit the green chillies and add to the gravy. Season it with mustard, fenugreek seeds currry leaves in til oil. It can be had with rice with fried pappads or any vegetable curry.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF VATHA KUZHZMBU

Ingredients (For four Persons)

For Seasoning

2 tbs of Manathangalikkai Vathal
or
2 tbs of Chundakkai vathal

2 tbs of Gingelly oil

1 tsp of channa dhall

3 red chillies

1 tsp mustard seeds

one sprig of curry leaves

For the gravy

one lemon sized ball of tamarind

2 tbs of sambhar powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp asfoetida powder

small piece of jaggery

Preparation

Soak the tamarind and squeeze the pulp.Add the sambhar powder,turmeric powder,asfoetida,jaggery and salt.Allow it to boil till the raw smell disappears. Now season all the items in the ingredients given for seasoning in gingelly oil and add to the boiling mix. Allow it to simmer for 5minutes.This can be had with rice and pappadams roasted or fried or with any vegetable curry.The best side dish is Parrupu Thogaiyal and Olan.

Parrupu Thogaiyal


Roast 4 tbs of Moong dhall till lite pink in colour. Grate half a coconut. Add 3 red chillies and grind it to a coarse paste. Add salt to taste and grind it again. This is very good side dish for Vatha Kuzhambu.

VAZHAI THANDU PORICHA KUZHAMBU(BANANA STEM)

Ingredients (For four Persons)

1 piece of banana stem(tender)

1/2 piece of raw banana

2 colacasia tuber(optional)

2 brinjal

Handful of soaked channa(preferably white)

Lemon size ball of tamarind

For grinding

1/2 coconut

5 redchillies

2 tbs of channa dhall

2 tbs of urad dhall

3 tbs of dhania (coriander seeds)

For seasoning

1 tsp of mustard seeds

2 tbs of scraped coconut

1 sprig of curry leaves

Preparation

Soak the tamarind and squeeze the pulp. Cut all the vegetables into finger size pieces. Banana stem should be cut round and the thread removed from it. Wash all the vegetables and cook them in the tamarind pulp withturmeric powder and asafoetida. Add salt to taste to the boiling vegetables. Cook the soaked channa in a pressure pan till it is soft. Add it to the tamarind pulp with the vegetables. Fry the channa dhall urad dhall red chillies and the coconut to it. Grind it to a fine paste and add it to the cooked vegetables. Allow it to boil till it froths . Season mustard seeds and fry the coconut along with it and add curry leaves. Add the seasoning to the poricha kuzhambu. It can be had with rice.