Pages

Saturday, October 04, 2014

Pavakka kichadi - a Kerala sadya staple

Diwali, though mostly associated with savory murukkus and ghee-laden sweets, is also about the feast that is prepared on the day of the festival. In this post and the next, I will be blogging about two simple and easy-to-make dishes that are an essential part of any sadya (feast) in Kerala.
The first dish is an accompaniment called kichadi by many and pachadi by some. Biitergourd, ladies finger/okra, tomato and beetroot are some of the vegetables that can be used to make this dish.
In this version, thinly sliced bittergourd  is fried to a crisp and then stirred into a spiced mixture of coconut, chillies and sour curd.


What you need :
Bittergourd - 2 small , sliced into thin small pieces after removing the pith and seeds
Sour curd - 1 cup
Fresh grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp + 1 tsp
Green chilli - 2 or 3 (depending on your spice tolerance level)
Oil - 2 tsp
Urad dal  - 1 tsp
Salt

Heat the oil in a pan. Add the urad dal and 1 tsp of mustard seeds along with some curry leaves. When the seeds pop, add the bittergourd, stir well, cover and let it saute until the bittergourd turns crisp and brown. Do not rush this step. Let the gourd cook in a low flame and stir every now and then so that it doesn't burn.
While this is getting done, grind the coconut, chillies and mustard seeds to a smooth paste adding a few spoons of the curd to it. Once the gourd is crisp, brown and cooked, add the ground paste to it along with salt and let it boil for a few minutes. Switch off heat. Beat the remaining curd so that it does not have any lumps and stir it into the pan. If you feel it is too thick, add some more curd.
Enjoy!!!



11 comments:

Priya Suresh said...

Looks fabulous.. this pachadi is in my to do list since a long, have to make some soon.

Srividhya said...

Great dish. I have never tried karela for pachadi.. should try it some time

Varada's Kitchen said...

Looks so refreshing and unique.

Harini R said...

Wow! Never made raitha with karela.

Suma Gandlur said...

It is the opposite in our family and bitter gourd is not cooked on afestival day. :)
We make raitas with other veggies but have never tried with bitter gourd.

lata raja said...

I have done the pachchadi with lady's fingers not with bittergourd. Sounds an interesting way to have the vegetable.

Sneha's Recipe said...

An interesting dish.

Pavani said...

Very interesting kichadi with bitter gourd.

Srivalli said...

That's an interesting pachadi Jay, never tried using fried bittergourd in a pachadi..

veena said...

That is an interesting Pachadi!!

Chef Mireille said...

I dont eat bitter gourd but my mom loves it - will have to share this recipe with her