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Home » Homemade Spice and Masala Powders

Published: Jan 27, 2014 · Modified: May 14, 2021 by Sandhya Ramakrishnan · This post may contain affiliate links

Pavakkai Podi | Bitter Gourd Podi | Spiced Bitter Gourd Powder

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Pavakkai Podi or Bitter Gourd podi is one of the good instant podi mixes to have in the kitchen for the busy days. With rice and some chips or Applam they become a quick meal.

Pavakkai Podi in a bowl

Coming from a South Indian background, podi’s are a must-have in the kitchen. These are such a lifesaver when it comes to a busy weeknight dinner. The regular podi’s that are stocked in my pantry are Thengai podi (coconut podi), Paruppu Podi (lentil Podi), karuvepillai podi (curry leaves podi), and Poondu podi (garlic podi).

When I saw this recipe of bitter gourd podi in Sowmya’s space and I really liked the idea. We love bitter gourd in my house and I use it very often in cooking. I make Pavakkai Pitlay, Pavakkai curry and occasionally Pavakkai varuval (chips) and Pavakkai urukkai (pickle). When I saw this recipe I wanted to try it out.

I would highly recommend this recipe to anyone who does not like the bitter gourd, because it sort of masks the bitterness and it tastes great with over some hot rice with a spoonful of nallennai (sesame oil).I had made just enough to eat for one day, but Sowmya had mentioned that this could be stored for up to 10 days.

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Pavakkai Podi served in a cup

Preparation time – 15 mins plus about 30 minutes to dry out the bitter gourd
Cooking time – 40 minutes
Difficulty level – easy

Ingredients to make Pavakkai Podi – To serve 4-6

  • Pavakkai / Bitter gourd – 3
  • Yogurt – 2 tbsp
  • Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
  • Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
  • Oil – 1 tbsp
  • Salt – to taste
  • Asafetida – ¼ tsp

To dry roast and grind together –

  • Kadalai paruppu / Channa dal – 1 tbsp
  • Ullutham paruppu/ urad dal – 2 tbsp
  • Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
  • Coriander seeds – 1 tsp
  • Red chili – 3
  • Tamarind – a small lime size
Pavakkai Podi served in a bowl

Procedure to make Pavakkai Podi –

  • Wash the bitter gourd and then slice them vertically. Remove the thick fibrous part in the middle and then grate the bitter gourd in a grater. Now squeeze the grated bitter gourd and spread over a paper towel or kitchen towel for about 10 minutes.
  • Transfer the bitter gourd to a bowl and mix it with the yogurt. Keep it aside for about 30 minutes. This helps to remove the bitterness from the vegetable. After 30 minutes, squeeze out the bitter gourd and keep it aside.
Wash and chop the ingredients
  • In the meantime, dry roast all the ingredients mentioned above and then grind it into a powder once they cool down.
Dry roast all the ingredients
  • In a pan, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds. Now add the turmeric powder and asafetida and fry it for about 20 seconds. Then add the squeezed bitter gourd and salt and fry it in low flame until the bitter gourds are golden brown and cooked. This takes a good 20 minutes. Make sure you fry it in low flame otherwise you might burn the vegetable.
Cook the ingredients in a pan
  • Add the ground powder to the cooked bitter gourd and mix well. Let it fry for about 2 minutes in low flame and then take it off the flame.
Add ingredients and mix well
  • Let it cool entirely and then store in an airtight container.
  • It tastes great when mixed with hot rice and sesame oil and served with More kuzhambu or any kootu!
Serve Pavakkai Podi kootu

Other Podi Recipes

  • Dosai Milagai Podi | Spiced Chili Powder for Dosai and Idli
  • Paruppu Podi | Spiced Lentil Powder For Rice
  • Poondu Paruppu Podi – Garlic Paruppu Podi
  • Thengai Podi With Flax Seed | Spiced Coconut Powder

 If you made this recipe and liked it, give a star rating on the recipe card or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #MyCookingJourney and tagging me @sandhya.ramakrishnan. You could follow me and my recipes on Facebook |Instagram | Pinterest | twitter

Pavakkai Podi in a bowl

Pavakkai Podi | Bitter Gourd Podi | Spiced Bitter Gourd Powder

Pavakkai Podi or Bitter Gourd podi is one of the good instant podi mixes to have in the kitchen for the busy days. With rice and some chips or Applam they become a quick meal
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Course: Homemade Spices, Masala Powder, spices and condiments
Cuisine: Asian, Indian, South Indian
Diet: Vegetarian
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 6 People
Calories: 55kcal
Author: Sandhya Ramakrishnan

Equipment

  • pan
  • bowl
  • spatula

Ingredients

  • 3 Pavakkai / Bitter gourd
  • 2 tablespoon Yogurt
  • ½ teaspoon Mustard seeds
  • ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon Oil
  • to taste Salt
  • ¼ teaspoon Asafetida

To dry roast and grind together –

  • 1 tablespoon Kadalai paruppu / Channa dal
  • 2 tablespoon Ullutham paruppu/ urad dal
  • 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
  • 1 teaspoon Coriander seeds
  • 3 Red chili
  • a small lime size Tamarind

Instructions

  • Wash the bitter gourd and then slice them vertically. Remove the thick fibrous part in the middle and then grate the bitter gourd in a grater. Now squeeze the grated bitter gourd and spread over a paper towel or kitchen towel for about 10 minutes.
  • Transfer the bitter gourd to a bowl and mix it with the yogurt. Keep it aside for about 30 minutes. This helps to remove the bitterness from the vegetable. After 30 minutes, squeeze out the bitter gourd and keep it aside.
  • In the meantime, dry roast all the ingredients mentioned above and then grind it into a powder once they cool down.
  • In a pan, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds. Now add the turmeric powder and asafetida and fry it for about 20 seconds. Then add the squeezed bitter gourd and salt and fry it in low flame until the bitter gourds are golden brown and cooked. This takes a good 20 minutes. Make sure you fry it in low flame otherwise you might burn the vegetable.
  • Add the ground powder to the cooked bitter gourd and mix well. Let it fry for about 2 minutes in low flame and then take it off the flame.
  • Let it cool entirely and then store in an airtight container.
  • It tastes great when mixed with hot rice and sesame oil and served with More kuzhambu or any kootu!

Nutrition

Calories: 55kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 8mg | Potassium: 235mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 445IU | Vitamin C: 72mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @Sandhya.Ramakrishnan or tag #MyCookingJourney!
« Ver Kadalai Chutney | Peanut Chutney (version 2)
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Sandhya

I am Sandhya Ramakrishnan, author, recipe developer and photographer in this journey! 'My Cooking Journey' is all about family friendly Vegetarian and Vegan recipes from around the World with focus on Indian cuisine.

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