Pavakai pullita kootu - Bittergourd tamarind kootu

Ingredients:
- 2 bittergourd
- 1 cup tamarind extract
- 1 tspn black pepper
- salt to taste
- pinch of turmeric
- 1 tspn jaggary
- 1/2 cup boiled toor dhal
- 1/4 cup coconut (optional)

Seasoning:
- 1/2 tspn mustard seeds
- 1/2 tspn uraddhal
- 1 tspn channa dhal
- 1 tspn peanuts
- few curry leaves

Method:
1. Chop the bitter gourd to bite size pieces and soak it in salt water for 30 minutes. This will decrease the bitterness.
2. Wash the bitter gourd thoroughly. Pressure cook the bitter gourd with a little bit of salt and turmeric. Drain all the water. Wash it one more time.
3. Add the tamarind extract, pepper powder and boil for 5 minutes. Finally add toor dhal and jaggary. Let it boil for few more minutes.
4. If using coconut fry it in a little bit of oil with the seasoning and add it to the kootu. Let it boil till it thickens.

Serve hot with rice.

Pitlai

Ingredients

• 3-4 long long purple Brinjal (Eggplant) cut into cubes


• 1 lemon sized tamarind (extract the juice in 1 cup water)


• 1 cup soaked Garbanzo beans or Chick peas preasure cooked.


• 1/2 cup thoor dhal preasure cooked


• 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric


To fry and grid


• 1 tblspoon oil


• 2 tblspn corriander seeds


• 2 tblspn Channa dhal


• 10 pepper corns


• 5-8 red chillies


• 1 cup cocunut

For thaduka


• Curry leaves, 1/4 teaspoon of Mustard seeds, Methi seeds, Hing

Method

1. Boil brinjal with salt and turmeric powder till it is half cooked


2. Pour oil and fry corriander seeds, channa dhal, pepper corns and red chillies until they are golden brown. Take them out and then add coconut and fry till it is slightly brown. Grind the fired mixture into a coarse paste.


3. Add tamarind juice and chick peas to the boiled brinjal. Let it boil for 2-3 minutes


4. Add the ground mixture and preasure cooked thoor dhal. Let it boil for another 3-5 minutes or till the raw smell goes away.


5. Heat oil a separate pan, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the urad dhal, Methi seeds hing powder and coconut. Fry till they turn brown. Lastly add curry leaves and immediately add to the boiling kootu.


6. Finally add jagary or brown sugar to the kootu. Take the kootu off the heat


7. If you want to reduce cocounut then add a little bit more thoor dhal.

You can make the same pitali with Potatoes, bitter gourd, tomatillas (Green tomatoes). If you are using bitter gourd soak it for 30 minutes with salt drain the water. Then preasure cook bitter gourd with salt and turmeric and drain the water again. Now follow the same steps. For tomatillas skip tamarind if they are too tangy.